The difference a good solicitor makes
by RoseLilian
Summary: Lily and James left Harry a muggle trust fund with a muggleborn trustee. This will impact Harry's childhood, leading to a more grounded Harry going to Hogwarts. Quickly runs through Pre-Hogwarts in the first few of chapters (gets the letter in chp 3). Anything recognizable belongs to JKR.
1. Chapter 1

Jacqueline Morse woke up on November 1st feeling very glad that it was a Sunday. Though as a solicitor she still had paperwork to do, she at least didn't have to go through the bother of putting herself together to go into the company office. Instead, she'll be working from home today and could afford to wake up after the sun had already risen.

After a cup of coffee and a quick breakfast, Jackie made it to her office only to notice that one of the cabinets was emitting a soft glow. Quickly making her way to the cabinet and going through the drawers, she finally found the document that was the cause of the glow. Reading it as she made her way to her desk, Jackie fell onto her chair with a sigh. "Oh, Lily…"

Jacqueline Morse was born the third and youngest child of parents who had thought their child-rearing days were long behind them. Jackie's older siblings had already left the nest, one married to her sweetheart and the other attending Cambridge for a chemistry degree. Jackie spent most of her childhood shuffled between school and various extracurricular activities and summer camps because her parents (already in their forties when she was born) didn't have the energy for an active child, especially one who so often was the center of interesting events. When a letter arrived the summer after her 11th birthday, everyone was quite content with the idea of Jackie going off to a magical boarding school, though her brother insisted on homeschooling her in the summers for her non-magical subjects.

Jackie thoroughly enjoyed her time in Hufflepuff - though she made many friends, she also did her best to learn as much magic as she could. However, by her fourth year, she could see which way the wind was blowing and had no expectations of staying in the magical world past her Hogwarts graduation. Muggleborns were not welcome and Jackie wasn't going to waste her time elbowing her way into a society that was so broken to begin with. Instead, Jackie went to university to get her law degree and became a practicing solicitor. She did send a business card to Dumbledore in case any muggleborns or their parents wanted muggle legal services from someone in the know. This was how she met Lily and James Potter.

They had come asking her to set up a trust fund for their yet unborn child. As James Potter did not exist in the muggle world, everything was set up under the name Lily Evans.

£100,000 was put into a trust fund for the later named Hadrian James Potter with Lily acting as the trustee. Should anything happen to Lily, Jackie was to take over in the role of a trustee until Harry gained his legal majority. The money was quickly used to buy two townhouses in London with their rent profit (£200) being used to buy 5-year treasury bonds. Harry Potter was to be granted full control of his trust fund on his 18th birthday (as it was the legal age for the non-magical world).

Now, almost two years later, something had happened to Lily. Jackie would have to venture into the magical world to find out how Lily met her end as well as what her role as the trustee would require from her. Harry was still alive as the document (magical in nature for all that it followed muggle legal formatting) had gone into effect, though it did not give an address for him. It seemed Jackie would have to venture back into the magical world to find out what happened.

Privet Dr. was the epitome of cookie cutter, which did not bode well for raising a magical child. In such a structured environment, any unusual activity would stand out like a pink plastic flamingo. No witch or wizard in their right mind would choose to live somewhere that would so risk the Statute of Secrecy. Thankful that she had decided to drive her car rather than apparate, Jackie parked on the street and made her way to the front door of #4.

Jackie's trip to Diagon Alley had allowed her to learn of the unfortunate events surrounding Lily's death, but it was only late on November 1st that the contract had given her an address for Harry.

Knocking on the door lead to a minute long wait before a long-necked young woman answered. Though it was obvious she was frazzled, the blonde woman had made an effort with her appearance, wearing a flowered blouse and minimal makeup.

"Good afternoon, may I help you?" There was a slight edge of impatience to the women's voice, but she was otherwise polite.

"Yes, I am the trustee for Harry Potter's trust fund and we have business to discuss. May I come in?"

"Are-are you one of them?" The woman paled and her voice broke. "Do you know what happened to my sister?"

Sitting down in a scrupulously clean living room across from a weeping Petunia Dursley was not a comfortable position to be in. Jackie tried to soften the news as much as possible, but the letter left by Dumbledore had been to the point though not as informative. And anyway, Jackie was not an emotional person to begin with and so had trouble dealing with the emotional outbursts of others. Petunia had been well on her way to turning her grief and ill feelings towards her sister to hatred and bitterness for her nephew, feelings that were shared by her husband. Thankfully, Jackie's appearance has stopped that… kind of.

Vernon Dursley was currently busy reading the paperwork for Harry's trust fund in the hopes that he would be able to access it (which will never happen as the Potters and Jackie had been meticulous when crafting it). Unfortunately for him, Jackie had to directly pay for everything in person, meaning they couldn't even buy something for their own son, Dudley, and claim that it was for Harry. As such, Jackie was going to be very involved in Harry's life for the foreseeable future.

"This is outrageous! We're his guardians so we should be controlling this money, not some solicitor who won't even be living with the boy! If the parents trusted you so much, why isn't he living with you?" Vernon's face was purpling in frustration as he finally set the papers down on the table. He was already upset that he had to call in sick to work due to his nephew's unwelcome arrival, now it seemed that he could not even financially profit from being forced to house him.

Jackie had also been forced to take a day off, though as Harry was actually a client of hers she didn't have as much explaining to do to her own boss. Instead, she merely had to reschedule a couple of client meetings.

"Believe it or not, Mr. Dursley, I would have preferred for him to do so. Unfortunately, if what Dumbledore wrote is true, then there are great benefits to your family and to Harry for him to live here. Now, this does not mean that I expect you to take attention away from dear Dudley. Give me time to investigate further regarding this 'blood protection' and then we can speak about what options are available to us. In the meantime, are you willing to allow him to stay here, for perhaps the next month at least?"

"What options?" Petunia sniffled as she seemed to reach the end of her breakdown.

"Daycare, summer camps and multiple extracurricular activities that will all limit the amount of time you will be expected to physically care for him. We will stretch the £200 as far as it will go to reduce the added burden you've been left with."

"Just for the month?"

"Yes, and I can go shopping with you today to pick up a few things for him."

"I'll give you a list." Petunia offered quickly. "I need to clean out the spare bedroom to make room for his things."

"That will do."

Jackie, in an effort to stretch her budget, bought most of the list's contents (clothing, baby furniture, etc.) from a nearby second-hand store. A quick reparo, tergeo, and scourgify made everything good as new and she was able to choose furniture pieces that had an antique feel to them and were made from good quality wood. Harry's drinking and eating utensils, as well as diapers and similar items, were bought new, though she attempted to find items made from natural fibers (except for the diapers) - for some reason, plastics had a habit of degrading over time in the presence of magic, and she didn't want Harry ingesting any harmful runoff. This meant that she spent almost the entire £200 just for that shopping trip. She did make sure to get slightly larger clothing so it would last him a few months (how fast did toddlers grow in any case?) before she would have to replace them, and she spent a few pounds on some toys so that he would have something to play with. It was unlikely that the Dursleys would allow him to share in Dudley's things. Thankfully, they could be expected to feed him for the month at least, though she would have to talk to someone with a toddler to find out what a decent food budget would be.

After dropping everything off at #4, Jackie drove her car to Charing Cross and parked it before heading through The Leaky Cauldron to Gringotts. Luckily, the line wasn't too long to get to a teller and she quickly came to the counter.

"Good morning, I am here on behalf of a client would like to see their financial records with Gringotts." Jackie handed over the trust fund contract as she spoke, which the goblin (Gnarlak according to the nameplate) immediately began to peruse. Jackie had found that while her muted emotions sometimes intimidated other humans, the goblins appreciated the lack of dramatics and friendly overtures.

"This looks legitimate, please move to the side and an accountant will be with you shortly." Gnarlak handed the contract back and pointed to his left where a few (uncomfortable) seats were available.

Before too long Jackie and another goblin (this one introduced himself as Belgorod) made their way to a private office to discuss Harry's account.

"Upon confirmation of their demise, the accounts of Lily and James Potter were cleared out and closed, with everything being moved to Mr. Potter's trust vault." Here, Belgorod gave Jackie a very stern look. "This vault is currently inaccessible by anyone, including Mr. Potter. Should he be accepted into Hogwarts, a key will be made available to him with his acceptance letter that will allow him to access the vault once a year. On his 17th birthday, the vault will mature to a standard Gringotts account and Mr. Potter will have full access. At this time, I am not at liberty to disclose any further information regarding Mr. Potter's account to anyone."

Jackie huffed even as she nodded. "I understand." No wonder the Potters had wanted a muggle trust fund set up. Honestly, it was one less responsibility for Jackie as she would not have to worry about Harry's wizarding finances, though this meant that she would have to get very creative to be able to financially support Harry and not leave him at the mercy of the Dursley's lacking generosity.

"There is an issue that Gringott's is not able to deal with that you perhaps can." Belgorod began leadingly, and when he saw he had her full attention once again, he continued. "Gringotts standard accounts do not allow for anything other than currency to be kept in them. However, accounts that are locked such as trust vaults may hold other items such as furniture. Gringotts does not have the authority to collect Mr. Potter's non-liquid assets and place them into the trust vault, but as his trustee, you do."

Jackie sat up straight. "I'll swing by Godric's Hollow to clear out the cottage."

Belgorod shook his head and reached into one of the desk drawers for a form. "That will not be necessary, Gringotts can send a team to collect all items, including those that were removed from the site, you only need to sign a form authorizing us to do so."

It was a simple and straightforward legal piece that paid Gringott's 25 galleons to collect all items rightfully belonging to one Hadrian James Potter that were not currently in his (or Jackie's) possession and placing them into Harry's vault within 48 hours. After signing it, another goblin was called in to take the contract and put together a team to act on it immediately.

This gave Jackie another idea. "Does Harry have any properties or investments left to him from his parents, other than the trust fund I oversee?"

Belgorod smirked and produces a sheath of papers. "The Potter's have a farming estate in Wales that produces 800 galleons in annual profit, of which 100 can be accessed by Mr. Potter but the rest will go directly into his vault. This estate is also the traditional home of the Potters. Mr. Potter also has a 5% interest in Sleakeasy's Hair Potion, which amounts to an income of approximately 300 galleons a year, depending on sales. The 400 galleons had up to this point been used to pay rent for the cottage in Godric's Hollow, which is actually the property of Madam Bagshot, as well as living costs. I suppose this money, which amounts to £100 a month, can instead be transferred to Mr. Potter's muggle trust fund for you to oversee."

"Excellent! If there is nothing else…?" Jackie continued when Belgorod shook his head. "I do have a question regarding any toys or photographs retrieved by Gringotts; is there a chance of those being handed over to Mr. Potter right away?"

Belgorod was shaking his head again. "Everything will be placed in his vault. If we allowed him to keep anything, then that leaves room for items that had been lent to others by the Potters to be kept by those currently in possession until Mr. Potter comes of age and recalls them."

"I understand. Thank you for your time." Jackie got up and with a last nod to Belgorod, made her way out of the office. Now she had to find someone trustworthy who was also knowledgeable about blood wards. The curse breaking teams working for the goblins were not allowed to take on private clients or provide private consults. The only other option was the small shop front kept by retired curse breakers willing to consult, but that was in Knockturn Alley and Jackie had never been there before. Well, first time for everything.

Returning to Privet Drive after a long day of driving back and forth was not Jackie's idea of a peaceful end to her workday, but she still had to discuss Harry's situation with Dursley's.

Sitting on the same couch across from Petunia and Vernon with Harry and Dudley playing on the floor, Jackie took a deep breath and started talking.

"I talked to someone who had more experience and they were able to confirm what Dumbledore had written with regards to the protection. Not only would it protect Harry, but it would also protect you three. Are you willing to take him in?"

Petunia and Vernon looked at each other before facing Jackie again. "Pet had planned to return to work this January. We were going to send Dudley to a nearby child care center, and if you will pay the boy's fees, and for his clothes and whatnot, then we will be willing to take him in… so long as nothing freakish happens." Vernon began turning red while Petunia paled at the last part.

Jackie gave a slow blink. "If you mean magic," the Dursleys flinched. "Then Harry most likely will only exhibit obvious signs of it when he is in danger or when he is feeling particularly strong emotions. In most cases, muggles don't even notice because they are so willing to turn a blind eye to the supernatural."

"So long as the neighbors don't notice anything, he can stay." Petunia stated with a narrow-eyed look at Harry. "The child care center gives a discount to Grunnings employees. I can drop him off with Dudley and pick him up after work."

"How much exactly will it be?" Jackie was worried - she only had £300 a month, and children were not cheap.

"It's usually £230 a month, but with the Grunnings discount and paying less for the second child, Harry's will come to £200." Petunia saw Jackie's look and explained. "I called and asked. However, that would not leave anything for his other expenses." Petunia's tone turned frigid at the last part.

"Excellent. Do not worry, I talked to the goblins and they were willing to provide an additional £100 a month for Harry's care. I should also let you know that I will be taking Harry out on Saturday; he needs to be checked over by a healer and insure all his vaccinations are up to snuff."

After checking on Harry's new room (small, but it would do for a toddler and it fit in all the furniture she had bought him) and saying a final goodbye, Jackie left the Dursleys and finally went home.

Saturday came quickly and before long Jackie found herself knocking on the Dursleys' door again, ready to take Harry to St. Mungo's. The trip was uneventful, and Jackie made sure to charm Harry's hair and eyes light brown to keep him from being recognized. She had booked the appointment under her own name (though still with a child specialist) to lessen the chance of wizards making a bother over their 'boy-who-lived'.

Healer Dunphy was a pleasant matronly witch who was happy to throw privacy charms her office when Jackie asked, though she seemed disapproving until Jackie undid the charms on Harry.

"HARRY POTTER! Wha-?"

"PLEASE, Healer Dunphy, there's no reason to shout!" Jackie said even as she worked to calm Harry down after the loud noise had upset him.

Dunphy looked somewhat embarrassed and apologetic. "Apologies, I just wasn't expecting this. You want a full exam then?"

"Yes, please."

Harry was reasonably healthy, with only two issues of concern. He was short-sighted, and the dark energy residue in his scar. In the end, Jackie agreed to involve the head of the curse related injuries department in trying to minimize the impact of Harry's scar.

Healer McLagan was just as surprised to see Harry as Dunphy, but he did prove useful at least.

"A simple cleansing ritual should do the trick, and the sooner the better. A few more years and the dark residue would be too attached to him to remove. We can perform one here, shouldn't take more than an hour."

With Jackie's permission, the two healers went through with a cleansing ritual, which ended with a screaming Harry that had thick dark smoke coming out of his scar. Unfortunately, it was still a curse scar and so could not be healed completely, though the angry red coloring it was had was now merely a thin pink line. Harry also seemed more aware and energetic after the ritual, which lead the healers to believe that his magic had been overworking itself in an effort to fight off the infection.

This gave Dunphy the idea to redo Harry's checkup, finding that his sight had slightly improved. He would still need glasses, but when before he could barely distinguish the door from the wall, he now would only need them when trying to make out details from a distance (like the writing on road signs… once he learns to read, obviously). Unfortunately, the eyes (and the brain for that matter) were delicate tissue that could not be magically healed beyond basic wound care. Unlike muggles who used donated bodies to further medical science, wizards were aware of too many dark rituals that required magical flesh to allow anyone access to their dead bodies. This has hampered the magical healing community, though they have often used muggle bodies to conduct their own research. Unfortunately, while this improved their understanding of anatomy, the presence of magic had a large impact on physiology, limiting the amount of usefulness muggle bodies provided.

Thankful that that was over with, Jackie made an appointment for Harry to see both healers again in six months before replacing the color charms on Harry and leaving St. Mungo's. The trip to and from St. Mungos had been made in Jackie's red Austin Allegro, which had a weak cushioning charm on all the seats but was otherwise non-magical. Harry's car seat, however, had a stronger cushioning charm as well as magical toys that lit up if he touched them. This was because the baby seat had not been purchased but instead transfigured from raw wood, meaning it would hold better than a plastic seat would and was safer for Harry since it also had a sticking charm for him. Jackie had bought an actual muggle car seat that would go in the Dursley's car as they would not have appreciated her magical one.

Once they'd made it back to #4, Harry was put down for a nap while Jackie sat with the Dursleys to plan out the details of Harry's life until Hogwarts. They had been relieved to know that Harry was free of magical residue, and to receive muggle-seeming health records for Harry.

"For now, I can care for him along with Dudders, so long as he stays calm and doesn't do anything freakish. Once the new year starts, he will be spending most of the day at the daycare center on weekdays." Petunia began only for Vernon to aggressively interrupt.

"Yes, and we expect you to pay for his food and to take him during the weekends so we could have family time for ourselves." His beady eyes dared Jackie to argue with him, though honestly, she didn't know why.

"That is actually what I was going to suggest. I can buy toddler food specifically for Harry, and I'm more than happy to take him during the weekends, but unfortunately he will have to sleep here at night due to the blood wards. According to the expert, the more time he spends here when he's young, the stronger the wards will be." Jackie took a deep breath - she expected them to refuse the next suggestions, but there really was no alternative. "I will be apparating Harry back here at night and picking him up in the morning." At their confused looks, she explained. "Teleporting - using magic to travel instantaneously."

"No! Out of the question! How dare you even sugg-" Vernon blustered as he ballooned up and turned purple. Petunia meanwhile just shook her head, looking disapproving.

"You want him gone during the day, but he must sleep here if you want him to consider this his home, especially as he will be in daycare for most of the week. I will apparate directly in and out of his room, the neighbors won't notice a thing." Jackie lost her patience when they continued to argue. "Listen, you either want the protection for your family or you don't! This is a very powerful deterrent to any magical wishing you harm, and unless your willing to make some compromises, I can't work with you. I will take Harry myself, leaving you unprotected!"

It took another hour before Dursleys finally started to see reason, and allowed Jackie to apparate in their home. It was agreed that on weekends, she would arrive at 9 am to pick-up Harry and return him at 7 pm, and that she would be responsible for preparing him for bed. It was also agreed that Harry would have no magical toys or books in his room at #4 and that Dudley would remain ignorant of the existence of magic. Jackie did point out that it was normal for young children to believe in fairies and dragons, and that by reacting so negatively the Dursleys would only draw attention to themselves. As such, it was decided that once Harry was in primary school, Jackie would begin to teach him to keep magic secret. Jackie was also not allowed to tell him anything specific about the existence of the actual magical world until he could be trusted to not tell Dudley. This meant that while he could read children's stories like Babbity Rabbity, he would not be exposed to Diagon Alley or be told that he was a wizard from a long line of self-governing witches and wizards. He would still see magical healers, but as he would not be exposed to muggle hospitals, by the time he realizes there are differences between wands and needles, he would be old enough to keep quiet about it.

Deciding that they'd had enough of each others company for the time being, and having hammered out Harry's schedule for the next couple of years, Jackie and the Dursley's said their goodbyes and Jackie made her out. She did leave £30 (Gringott's had come through with the additional £100 a month a few days previously) to pay for Harry's food that month. Petunia had promised to make a list of Harry's likes and dislikes to help Jackie shop for him the next month.

When Jackie made it home, she didn't even bother to remove her shoes, she just fell into her bed with a grunt. Hopefully, her dealings with the Dursleys will get better as they became more familiar, but she doubted it.

AN: Since there is no Horcrux negatively influencing them, the Dursley's aren't as mean and abusive as in canon, though still not nice people by any means. R&R please, even if it's negative, and let me know if I should do a montage of Harry's childhood or if I should skip to Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 2

As any normal child would, Harry missed his parents and made it known to everyone he came into contact with, which earned much sympathy from most, and a bit of annoyance and much impatience from his aunt and uncle. Truthfully, Jackie was also starting to become annoyed with the poor child by half-way through December. It seemed as if fighting off the curse residue had tired him out the first week to the point where he was very easy to handle and spent much of his time resting. After having been cleansed, however, he returned to his normal energetic self. Though a generally happy child, Harry was very active and had a habit of investigating everything he could get his hands on. He also had a hard time going to sleep, continually asking for his parents until his tiredness forced him to rest.

After the first few weekends, Jackie gave up and snuck in a Good Knight pillow, which was charmed to be comforting and guarded against nightmares while being safe for young children. This meant he could be put to sleep in half an hour instead of the previous two hours. Jackie's agreement with Dursleys prevented magical toys and books, but said nothing about magical pillows. To be frank, since this also reduced the time Petunia spent putting Harry to sleep, she was willing to pretend ignorance. She even started sending Harry to daycare with the pillow once his nannies complained about his difficulties during nap times, though they were very sympathetic to poor orphan Harry.

Another thing that helped was having pictures of his parents near him. Jackie was able to convince Petunia to write to Minerva McGonagall asking for pictures of Lily and James Potter. Jackie made non-magical copies of the dozen photographs that were sent back to put near Harry's bed while the originals went to the corner of Jackie's living room where Harry's things were stored. Most of them were of Lily or James in school uniforms, though there was one from their wedding day and another from when they had announced Lily's pregnancy. The original magical version of the last Petunia was kind enough to allow Jackie to keep in Harry's room. This calmed Harry down as he could wave hello to his parents before going to sleep or leaving the house. Vernon so rarely entered Harry's room that he never noticed its presence.

Harry had so far managed to avoid obvious acts of magic which resulted in the Dursleys being more comfortable around him. Dudley, the over-indulged beach ball that he was, had at first been aggressive to Harry and attempted to steal his toys, but Harry had given as good as he got and Dudley soon learned to leave him alone. The Dursley parents couldn't claim that Harry was the aggressor because Jackie made several surprise appearances the first two months and saw how the two cousins interacted. Dudley's time in daycare further socialized him, forcing his parents to teach him to share and play nice with other children if they didn't want him to be thrown out. Petunia's wage, while not extravagant, was very helpful to the young family and they didn't want to lose it and curtail their spending, which would happen if Dudley didn't have a daycare to go to.

Vernon never did warm up to Harry, and the two tended to avoid each other, usually only spending time together during mealtimes. They could go weeks with barely a word between, except for the odd order of 'Boy, do this' or 'Boy, don't do that'. And while Petunia was closer to Harry, that was mostly because she had to be. Until he learned to bathe, feed and clothe himself, and was potty trained, she took care of those aspects of his care during the weekdays. And when he got older, she supervised his chores, his weekday schedule, and was considered his primary guardian by the wider public. As the Dursleys didn't see much in the way of added costs to housing Harry, and they benefited both from the blood wards and from being able to claim a moral high ground for caring for an orphan child out of the goodness of their heart, they were willing to tolerate him. Jackie's keen oversight helped to prevent them from being too callous towards the boy, but it said something when Harry had to be reminded to refer to Petunia as his aunt rather than as Mrs. Dursley, while he had no problem referring to Jackie as 'auntie'.

Up to the age of five, Harry's weekends with Jackie consisted mostly of him playing with magical toys in the living room with Jackie doing paperwork on the dining room table. She also read him magical children's tales and took him out to nearby children's park to play with neighboring muggle children. She had told everyone that Harry was her godson and she shared custody with his elderly aunt and uncle, which is why she only had him for the weekends. Due to his age, none of the muggles took Harry's mumblings about magic toys and moving pictures seriously and assumed they were robotic toys or video recordings. She didn't take him to museums and zoos because his daycare center had regular 'educational' trips that he took part in. Sometimes they would ask for funds for special lunches or ticket fares, and usually Jackie was able to stretch Harry's trust fund payments to cover them. When she couldn't, well, she was willing to pay the difference for someone who single-handedly stopped a terrorist organization. Any money spent on birthday presents for his friends was made up for by the presents he received for his birthdays, especially from his aunt and uncle who were willing to hand over cash that could be added to Harry's budget; by this point, Vernon had been promoted and Petunia had received regular raises, leading to a very comfortable life for the Dursleys, and they preferred to hand over an envelope of cash rather than go to the bother of actually shopping for him.

A few weeks before Harry's fifth birthday the first treasury bond matured and was cashed in on Harry's behalf by Jackie. Part of the £1160 (the rest was put in a high-interest savings account) was used to buy Harry 'big boy' furniture for his birthday. Jackie had originally bought him a small toddler bed which he had been sleeping on for a while, but he was getting too tall and needed a proper twin sized bed.

Since the toddler furniture Harry had was actually very good quality and had been refurbished (with magic) by Jackie but was not actually magical, she was able to sell it to a secondhand store. The additional money was added to the general budget and she took Harry furniture shopping for the first time in his young life.

Jackie was still unwilling to waste money on brand new furniture when she could buy second hand, but she and Harry made a weekend of it, visiting dozens of secondhand furniture stores before finding a solidly built set that Harry liked. The set was again wooden and consisted of bed frame, side table, a wardrobe (which had a mirror inside its door), a desk and chair, and a narrow bookcase. After magically fixing and cleaning it, the set showed itself to be made from pine wood, which was a nice light grained wood that helped brighten up Harry's room. As he didn't actually sleep at Jackie's (and she didn't have a second bedroom) Harry didn't have a room at her flat, which was great as it meant that he subconsciously considered #4 to be his home. They also purchased a nice rug with an animal design and a reading light for his bed.

His friends had drawn him colorful pictures to give to him for his birthday (along with clothes and a few toys) which he hung on the walls. Though he actually did not like the shopping frenzy, Harry loved his new room. His enthusiasm was reduced when he (and Dudley) were informed that as they were now old enough to go to school, they were old enough to be responsible for keeping their rooms clean and would be grounded if they didn't.

Five was also the age that Jackie began to train Harry to keep the magical world a secret. Growing up, he had been told certain things (like how his toys would magically fix themselves or how his healers had wands that threw bright colors instead of stethoscopes and needles) were to be kept secret and should not be spoken about to his friends. Now that he was leaving daycare behind, comments about moving pictures and talking chess pieces could not be explained away as a toddler not understanding what he was looking at. Therefore, Harry had to be much more guarded about what he said to people other than Jackie, and he was not to mention anything about magic to Dudley.

This was helped by the fact that the primary school Harry and Dudley were going to was far away from their daycare which meant most of Harry's daycare friends did not end up going there. Harry had had only limited contact with the children in Little Whinging due to spending most of his time at daycare or Jackie's. As such, Harry's new friends would not be expecting him to tell them about what new wonders his 'imagination' could come up with, and Dudley had been told by his father that big boys did not believe in magic. As such, both boys were aware not to introduce that topic of conversation, though it still took all summer for the lessons to truly stick.

The second (and final; Lily had only purchased two before her death) treasury bond matured a year later and it was added to the existing saving account which was accessed by Jackie once a year for Harry's birthday. This was in order to purchase magical presents for Harry's birthdays - a Little Potioneer potions kit for his seventh birthday, tickets to a handful of Quidditch games for his eighth, Quidditch tickets (Jackie had created a monster) and a wizarding radio (to keep up with Quidditch results) for his ninth, and season tickets for his tenth (she had given up by that point). Unfortunately, these all had to be kept secret from Dudley, so Harry had to pretend that he had only gotten new clothes (purchased with the monetary gift from Petunia and Vernon) for his birthdays.

Dudley and Harry were not actually close friends; they hadn't been in daycare and a friendship between them didn't develop in the years after, in large part due to the secrecy. They were friendly due to living together, and they did consider each other family, but they had different groups of friends and interests. Dudley was big-boned and aggressive for his age, though his parents had made some effort to curb his tendency towards bullying (mostly because other parents complained about it). Harry was average in size for his age and sweet-natured, though he could get very stubborn and was often described as cheeky by his teachers. Both were involved in Boy Scouts, junior football, and Petunia had insisted on piano lessons for both back when the boys were four years old (Mrs. Polkiss from down the street was a piano teacher) if only to give her an extra six hours of peace every week. This was where Dudley had first met his best friend, Piers Polkiss, who had a similarly aggressive attitude. Unfortunately, they both switched instruments, Dudley for drums and Harry for violin (partly because Jackie wasn't sure if Hogwarts had a piano and a violin would better fit in his trunk). Harry still played the piano occasionally since Jackie inherited one from her parents, but he enjoyed the violin more. They both also had chores - Harry had to take out the garbage and wash dishes (Dudley could not be trusted with breakables) while Dudley had to water the yard and go around the house gathering the dirty laundry. As they got older, vacuuming and washing the car were added to their respective chore lists too.

It should also be said that Harry was significantly brighter than Dudley, though that could be due to Jackie's and Vernon's individual influences. Vernon did not expect his son to be a 'pansy bookworm' and so was happy with average results (and even that was mostly because Petunia wanted her son to get passing grades). Jackie, meanwhile, expected Harry to do his work to the best of his ability and was willing to spend time tutoring him if he needed it. Harry was also more willing to sit still and pay attention to his teachers as good reports from them were rewarded with lessons on magic and incognito visits to magical locations like Hogsmeade. Harry was also aware (because Jackie kept harping on about it) that his time in a muggle school was limited and he needed to take advantage of it while he could.

His 'magic' lessons were less magical and more pragmatic; he learned to neatly write with a quill (a fancy one that had an endless supply of rainbow colored ink), how to properly format essays, and was given access to books on magical history, which were more like fantasy novels than anything else. Harry also enjoyed looking through the Daily Prophet, which usually had very entertaining articles and even more entertaining pictures.

Starting in the summer of his tenth birthday, Harry's lessons with Jackie became more structured. He was given an allowance of £50 a week (no fees for daycare meant Jackie's budget for Harry wasn't as tight) that he had control over, though he had to explain to Jackie every month how he spent the money and Jackie used the opportunity to teach him financial common sense such as saving 20% of his earnings. Most of the money went towards school trips and outings with friends, but the £10 went towards a piggy bank for birthday gifts. He also started learning basic safety rules and beginning theory for potions, charms and transfiguration, and started learning about astronomy and herbology. Along with that, he voluntarily read parts of Hogwarts: A History (mostly about the different houses), and started spending part of each weekend in the magical world to better fit in once he got to Hogwarts. Jackie's first term at Hogwarts had been a huge adjustment with only her status as a muggleborn saving her from teasing from her year mates. As a half-blood, everyone would expect Harry to be familiar with the magical world, and him not being so would make him look like an idiot.

As he got older, Harry couldn't help but notice that there some people he would more likely than not meet every time he stepped into the magical world. It began with meeting Professor McGonagall at one of his first Quidditch games, then Professors Flitwick and Sprout began to make appearances, and more recently Neville Longbottom, a boy his own age, and his grandmother, Madame Longbottom. Harry didn't mind - knowing some of his Hogwarts professors helped him feel less uncomfortable about leaving his family for months at a time, and Neville was a nice boy who could be convinced to play pretend aurors under the Quidditch stands. He was even invited to Neville's last couple of birthdays, which was great as Neville's family lived in an isolated plot of land and had a couple of broomsticks the boys were allowed to use (Jackie had worked very hard to convince Madame Longbottom, but when Neville proved capable of flying a broomstick, Madame had seemed oddly relieved).

What did worry Harry was that even though he introduced himself as Henry Morse, and had had the usual color charms on, he was sure they all knew who he really was. Jackie had told him what had happened to his parents, and how everyone expected him to be some great hero, but that wasn't Harry. He didn't want people to expect so much from him and while he loved his parents (or their memory) he knew he only looked like them; he didn't like pranking like his father did when he was Harry's age and he wasn't the social butterfly his mother was. Perhaps it was due to having to keep so many secrets, but Harry was friendly to most of his classmates, but only friends with a few, and he didn't want to change that. And while Harry loved a good laugh as much as anyone, he wasn't the class clown, nor was he the most clever student in his school.

When he had brought up his worries to Jackie she had only smiled proudly down on him. "You're right, they do know who you are. At first McGonagall was worried to see you with me, but when I explained the trust fund, she was willing to stay out of it, though she did ask to be kept updated on how you were doing. I didn't feel like being her informant - that means spy - so instead I would only tell her what tickets I had bought you. Outside of Quidditch, the child friendly areas of magical Britain are so limited, it is very easy to determine where a young child could be, especially if you know when he will most likely be out the house."

"And Neville? Is he my friend, or…?" Harry was too scared to finish his sentence. Neville was his only magical friend, and they wrote letters to each other all the time as well as saw each other most weekends. He had been so excited to be going to Hogwarts with a friend already made, but now that could all be ruined.

"Harry, is Neville the type of person who would do that?" Jackie asked him gently.

Harry shook his head quickly with a relieved smile.

"Neville was not told, but his grandmother believes he suspects. He's a nice boy, and is polite enough not to confront you on it." Jackie should have seen this conversation coming, but honestly, as the uninteresting daughter of an uninteresting family, she never had been in a situation like this. Hopefully, she had said enough to make Harry feel better; she didn't want to him to ever feel like he wasn't appreciated just for being himself.

"Do you- do you think I should tell him?" Harry asked with a slightly queasy look though there was hope in his eyes.

"I think you should do what makes you feel comfortable." Jackie said firmly. She only had a few months left before Harry started leaving for most of the year and she needed him to be able to make decisions for himself. It was unfair of her perhaps, but as an orphan with a lot of media attention, Harry needed to act with a maturity most children could avoid. She could only protect him for so long, especially as she had no familial link to him. Solicitors were not actually supposed to be as emotionally invested in their clients as she was, which meant her position as his trustee (and for his muggle trust fund only at that) really didn't stand a chance in the face of someone like Dumbledore or even Malfoy. Harry needed to be able to count on himself to make the right decisions without her input, and this was a safe first attempt.

"That's not an answer!" Harry complained, which only caused Jackie to smirk. "I'll think about it." Harry took a deep breath and then looked uncomfortably to the side. "What about the other part? About being Harry Potter and everything?"

Jackie sighed and lead Harry to sit on the living room sofa. "You're right there, too. Some people, a lot of people, already have an idea of who Harry Potter should be, but you shouldn't worry about it. Be yourself. You may not be the smartest, but you are smart. You may not be the funniest, but you have a great sense of humor." Jackie put her hand under Harry's chin and forced him to meet her eye. "I only knew you parents once they were already adults, so I don't really know what they were like when they were children. You would have to ask the professors for more stories for that. But, from when I knew them, they were a lot like you. They both had a good sense of humor, a close but small circle of trusted friends, and both were very smart, not from having a lot of information, but from being curious, just like you. Like you, they investigated anything that caught their attention and liked to know how and why things worked. From what I remember, you are a lot like your parents, albeit when they were older and more mature. Alright?"

Harry's face had cheered up by the end of Jackie's speech, and he smiled and nodded. He was more than alright - Jackie was right. He was like his parents where it counted, and yet different enough to be his own person. Harry Potter may be famous, but Hadrian James Potter was going to knock the Wizarding World's socks off!


	3. Chapter 3

The next time Harry saw Neville in person was at the 1991 Quidditch national finals on May 18, a Saturday. Jackie only allowed Harry to attend games that began on a Saturday because Quidditch didn't have a time limit, and she didn't want him to either miss school due to a game going for longer than a day or have him complain about missing the end of a game. Luckily, most games were on weekends and they've only been to one game that had gone on for more than twelve hours (which Harry had loved though he was hardly able to keep his eyes open by the end of it) and since it had started on a Saturday afternoon, they could sleep in Sunday to make up for it, though Harry did end up missing a Boy Scouts event.

Harry and Jackie had just gotten settled into their seats and Harry was putting away his spectacles in order to more comfortably use his omnioculars. He'd saved up his allowance (which also had to cover other expenses like new strings for his violin) for months to be able to purchase the pair and he couldn't wait to try them out. He'd just started using them to look around the pitch when Neville and his grandmother appeared. Harry quickly moved a seat down so that Augusta could sit next to Jackie while he and Neville sat together in front of their two guardians.

Neville had already noticed Harry's new purchase and was grinning. "So you did have enough! Is it as good as you thought it would be?"

"It's great! I can't wait when the game actually starts." Harry returned excitedly.

Just then, the announcer began speaking, and Harry and company were treated to an exciting three hours of Quidditch. Neville hadn't been a rabid fan of Quidditch before Harry, but when his only friend was so enthusiastic for the game, that enthusiasm proved contagious. It helped that Harry was willing to share in Neville's own interests, mainly herbology, and spent time with him in his personal garden caring for plants while discussing Quidditch plays. In the end (once Harry, Neville, and surprisingly Augusta were hoarse from shouting) the Montrose Magpies beat the Kenmore Kestrels 670 to 510, with the two teams being very well matched.

After the game, Augusta and Jackie were joined by Minerva and the three ladies talked while keeping an eye on the two boys who were enjoying the chance to run around a large field with other magical children, some of whom would join them at Hogwarts the next year. After about an hour, Jackie called Harry back - she always tried to have him back at the Dursleys by 7pm as Petunia enjoyed maintaining a strict schedule.

As the two walked back to their guardians, Neville and Harry continued to discuss the recent game, and whether it was better to have a team of decent individual players who worked well together, or outstanding players who weren't as interested to play a team game.

"It's all about the seeker, Henry-" Neville was saying before he was interrupted.

"Harry."

"What?" Neville turned to stare blankly at Harry.

"You can call me Harry." Harry said with a bit of a blush.

"Harry…" Neville said slowly, dimly understanding that it was about more than a name. After a moment he adopted a mock serious look. "You may continue to call me Neville, or Mr. Longbottom if you prefer."

"But Nevi-poo-"

"SHUT IT, HARRY!" Neville shouted over Harry's laughter, and a game of chase was started, with Neville first catching Harry and punching him in the arm before it was Harry's turn to do the same. Eventually both Augusta and Jackie got fed up with the two and physically retrieved them in order to get them back to their respective homes. That night, both boys went to sleep with huge grins on their faces.

* * *

Later on that summer, the two boys agreed to celebrate their birthdays together for the first time - Harry Potter's birthday was well known in the magical world and so Harry hadn't been able to invite Neville to his previous birthday parties as that would have been too obvious of a clue. However, since their birthdays were only a day apart, and Harry had not planned to invite his muggle friends anyway, he decided to celebrate with his best friend who had already figured out his famous identity.

As it was going to be their eleventh birthdays, Hogwarts letters were expected for both boys. Poor Neville, even if he had survived a fall out of a window at age eight and had since showed several incidents of magic, was still nervous about if he would receive a letter. According to Minerva, Hogwarts owls would be sent out July 22nd, and depending on distance, would reach their intended recipients sometime that week. Jackie and Augusta had therefore agreed that once Harry got his letter he would stay over at Longbottom manor until his birthday and would get his school shopping done along with Neville.

It was actually common for Harry to spend a couple of weeks every summer away from the Dursleys - they would take a family vacation to places like Paris while Harry would spend the time with Jackie completely immersed in the magical world while staying at the Leaky. Jackie still refused to provide a bed for him in her flat for fear that it would weaken the blood protection in some way. Harry was alright with this - the furniture in his room had been purchased with funds his parents had specifically set aside for him, which made it almost like they had purchased it themselves. It was also decorated exactly how he liked and it had been years since anyone other than him (and Jackie when she apparated him back on weekends) had been inside it. It was Harry's bat cave and he loved it. He also vaguely understood the importance of the blood wards and needing to consider #4 to be his home.

Earlier in the year Jackie had reminded Petunia about the letter and let her know the approximate time of its arrival which allowed the Dursleys to plan their vacation appropriately. They planned to leave July 25th and not be back until August 10th, thus avoiding any magical shopping excursions.

Harry's excitement about going to Hogwarts hit a wall the first week of July. He, Dudley, and a few other boys in the junior football league were discussing their secondary schools. Dudley and Piers had been bragging about Smeltings, and Dudley had turned to Harry to confirm something. "Isn't that right, Harry? You must be excited about being able to play in the school band." Harry was well known for his love of his violin - the boy had the singing talent of a donkey being tortured, but could play the violin well enough to be proud of his skill.

"Umm, Dudley, I'm not going to Smeltings…" Harry said haltingly, just realizing that no one had told Dudley that. "It turns out my dad had already paid for me to go to the boarding school he went to." As far as the muggles and Dudley knew, Harry's father was a police officer who had been killed along with his wife by a criminal out for revenge. As such, invoking his name generally provided a certain amount of respect from Dudley and the other boys.

Dudley's face turned pale then started to go purple. He did not like being made to look like a fool, and the fact that he didn't know where his cousin was going to school (and his friends now knew this) made him feel like an idiot.

Harry quickly continued when he noticed Dudley's quickly rising temper. "I've been trying to ignore and forget about it, really. It's a very old fashioned school - they have no computers or television, not even telephones!" Seeing that it was working to cool Dudley's temper, Harry continued. "And it's in a drafty castle in Scotland, which means it's going to be very cold and miserable, and I likely won't be able to make it back for school holidays because it won't be worth the two day trip just for a week long break." Harry didn't actually know how long it would take to get from Hogwarts to Surrey by muggle means, but if he didn't know, then Dudley likely didn't know either. Harry now started to make things up just to make it sound extra miserable and keep Dudley uninterested in it. "Supposedly, it's run by nuns who don't believe in technology or junk food. I have to go because my parents tied my trust fund to it - I'll lose a lot of money if I don't. The rest of you boys are so lucky you get to choose your own schools!" Harry tried to make himself sound as bitter as possible, and it worked! Before long, Dudley and everyone else was back to bragging with the new addition of making fun of Harry's misery.

But that confrontation made Harry realize that the impact secrecy had on his social life with muggles was only going to increase. When before he could use school and extracurricular activities as conversation topics and socializing opportunities, he now would have a lot less in common with his muggle friends and cousin, and would have to work even harder to keep up secrecy. His school work would all be on parchment written on with quills for magic's sake! He couldn't even show Dudley his textbooks (not that he would be interested) or be able to hang up photographs of his friends at Hogwarts. And what about Vernon? He would never allow any of his magical items in the house. He was already barely tolerated by his uncle, this would only make their relationship worse.

Harry did his best to forget about it and enjoy the limited time he had left with his friends. Honestly, he loved magic and the magical world, but being caught in between like this was a pain most times. There were good and bad things about both worlds, and for all that he had overheard some witches and wizards at the Leaky talk about being able to merge the two worlds, he knew that it was unlikely. The muggle world was about logic and limits, where an individual couldn't thrive without a community to support them. The magical world was the opposite - magic had few limits (and most of those were moral based) and magical logic was along the lines of 'I want, therefore I get.' Individual witches and wizards can live their whole life without needing anyone's help - magic helped them build a house, grow a garden, make high quality items, etc - there was no need for engineers and plumbers and dentists. A magical could literally land in the middle of nowhere with their wand and still thrive. All they would need is a spouse and within a generation, they'd have a whole village started. Even wands could be crafted through trial and error, though the process is dangerous and rarely produced an Ollivander quality product.

The two worlds had such opposing sensibilities that both would lose something in the merging. Jackie, for all that she was a successful solicitor, literally jumped at the chance to slowly re-integrate herself back into the magical world now that Voldie was gone, but she still kept two separate offices. Even when he had been present, she had still maintained contact by providing muggle legal services to the magical world - she actually had done work for both the ministry as well as several magical races; the centaurs had used her to set up a dummy corporation and purchase large swaths of forests for themselves. They made decent money by responsibly logging in a way that kept the forest healthy and did not interfere with existing wild life. They also grew magical and non-magical healing herbs to sell to both worlds. However, this was all in secret from most of the muggle world.

Harry had actually had the courage to ask Petunia once, and she had been quick to tell him that she would have been much happier to have been kept ignorant of the magical world. Jackie's family was the same way, with none of her nieces and nephews aware that she was actually a witch, even if she was much closer to her siblings than Lily had been to her's. Secrecy was an unhappy necessity for the magical world, one that Harry was responsible for helping maintain.

* * *

The week of July 22 arrived to a lot of excitement in the Dursley household. Harry was anticipating his letter, while the other three were looking forward to their trip to Greece. Harry made sure to be the one to retrieve the mail on Monday only to find no Hogwarts letter. After a moment of disappointment he felt very foolish - Hogwarts would send out letters at some point that day, so his won't actually arrive until that evening at the earliest. When he carried the mail to where Vernon and Dudley were having breakfast, he made sure to shake his head at Petunia (who was standing over the stove) from behind Dudley's back, just to let her know that there was no letter yet.

There was also no letter carrying owl that evening, but there was a letter addressed to Harry the next morning. Harry had been so excited, he had woken up much earlier than he needed to - he spent most summers in day camps (most lasting a couple of weeks), shuffling between band, football, Boy Scout retreats, and random picks like swimming and horseback riding, but since he was going to be away the next few weeks, as were the Dursleys, Petunia had not signed him and Dudley up for anything during that time.

On July 23 of 1991, Harry Potter woke at just past 5am, ran (quietly) down the stairs and to the front door, and did a very awkward victory dance when he saw an old-fashioned parchment envelope with his name written on it in emerald green ink. After opening it to make sure it was actually an acceptance letter, and checking out the window to see an owl waiting, Harry ran back to his room to retrieve his pre-written acceptance note to give to the owl - after feeding the poor animal and giving it some water of course, he wasn't a savage.

Afterward, he took his letter to his room and read it carefully, and then re-read it, all the while clutching the small golden key that had also been in the envelope. Honestly, Harry was almost more excited for his trust vault than for Hogwarts. Not only did it have pictures of his parents and other keepsakes, but Jackie had suggested he look through their old school things and see what he could re-use himself. Old textbooks, their class notes (Professor Flitwick said his mother had kept very neat and organized notes), telescope, and other equipment. Though Harry's childhood had been relatively happy, he missed his parents, missed knowing them, and their lack had turned them into mythical figures of worship in his mind, especially as their loving sacrifice was manifest in the strength of the protective warding he lived in. For all that he was proud to be himself, they were not there to tell him they were proud of who he was growing up to be. He could only do his best and hope that it would be enough.

The Dursleys left for the airport the morning of the 25th and were farewelled by Harry and Jackie, who had driven to #4 in order to be seen picking up Harry by the muggles. After Harry's small bag and violin case were loaded into Jackie's car, they drove to her flat, where Harry packed up all his things (most to be placed into his vault while the rest would be going with him to Hogwarts) and then they took the floo to the Longbottom's manor. Neville had already sent Harry an excited letter telling him about receiving his own Hogwarts invitation (again, he was the only one who was surprised by this) and he lost no time in dragging Harry up to his room to show him the actual letter - with his name on it and everything! Harry often found much amusement in his friend's humble nature, though he planned to insure it wasn't taken advantage off by the other children they would meet at Hogwarts. He didn't worry too much about it since Neville was by no means a gullible fool, he only lacked Harry's own streak of stubborn independence.

Meanwhile, Augusta and Jackie were discussing the upcoming shopping trip.

"We should wait until after their birthdays, maybe the first week of August. It would be too crowded now, and everyone would be on the look-out for Harry." Jackie got along very well with Augusta as both women preferred to get to the point. They both also approved of each others' parenting styles - no spoiling with plenty of opportunities for the boys to make mistakes and learn from them.

Unfortunately for Augusta, until Neville had shown magical ability at eight, much of her effort had been hampered by Neville's other relatives, causing him to develop anxiety and a lack of self-worth. Befriending Harry had mitigated some of this, but Augusta still held a grudge against that irresponsible fool, Algie. Her brother-in-law had never been the most sensible fellow, but endangering her grandson like that had lead to a weeklong stay at St. Mungo's for Algie and a significant reduction in the time he was allowed to spend with Neville. A frog was not going to make up for that scare.

Augusta quickly agreed to Jackie's suggestion of waiting before adding her own two sickles in. "This will give the boys time to look through their parents' things and see what they need to purchase and what they have already. I've already given Neville Frank's wand so he could have time to bond to it properly." Augusta went to take a sip of her tea while Jackie lifted a startled eyebrow.

"Frank's wand? But didn't he lose it to one of the Lestranges?"

"It was retrieved and is in fine working condition." Augusta said firmly if with a bit of strain in her voice.

"Forgive me, what I meant was, wands are known to change allegiance to someone if their owner is defeated. It's why I'm not planning to allow Harry to carry his parents' wands - both of them were likely defeated by that monster." Jackie explained in between sips of her own tea. No one was exactly sure what happened that Halloween, though various 'experts' put forth their own largely ridiculous theories, but since both Potters were murdered, Jackie felt safe to decide against Harry carrying their wands. "We should double check with Ollivander, but I personally would rather Harry have a fresh wand choose him, just to be safe."

Augusta had a thoughtful look on her face. "Well, I suppose what you're saying makes sense… I am disappointed, however, and I think Neville will be, too. He treasures that wand, and rarely lets it out of his sight."

"He can keep it with him at Hogwarts, as a luck charm or some such, but I would personally recommend he also get his own wand." Jackie understood Augusta's hesitation in taking the wand back. She herself was actually grateful that the goblins kept such a tight control over the Potters' things, otherwise Harry would have filled her flat with keepsakes.

"Perhaps, I will speak to him." Augusta allowed, before quickly shifting the topic to the boy's upcoming birthday party.

* * *

Like usual, Harry and Neville were the only children their age present to celebrate on July 30th. All the other Longbottoms were either significantly older, significantly younger (though one had finally learned to talk in complete sentences), or were out of the country. Neville's next older cousin was going into his final year at Hogwarts (a Ravenclaw) and so found himself spending most of his time answering questions from Harry and Neville.

"How will we be sorted then?"

Walter gave an exasperated sigh and glared at Harry. "You already asked that, I already refused to answer, and trying to sneak the question in is not going to work!"

"But how? Is it an exam? Do we have to know specific things? Are we dueling?" Harry insisted while Neville, who was not as daring as Harry, stood at his back and nodded along. At the last question, however, he shot Harry an alarmed look and immediately tried to think of all the spells he knew, most of which were for gardening. He was headed to Hufflepuff for sure at this rate! Wait, wait, there was that one spell he could maybe-

"No to all those things! Just- listen, don't tell anyone, alright?" He leaned in and whispered the last bit, to which both boys nodded with widened eyes and eager smiles. "You don't have to do anything. It's not about what you do, it's about what you think, how you think, you're personality. That's what determines your sorting." And with that Walter quickly made his way to Augusta to say his goodbye before apparating back to his home. Magic save him from stubborn firsties!

Meanwhile, the boys' eager smiles had turned to disappointed scowls. "What does _that_ mean, our personality?" Harry complained.

Neville tried to look on the bright side. "At least it's not dueling, or an exam. Want more cake?"

"...Yeah." Cake was a great cure for disappointing answers from bookworm older cousins. At least Dudley tended to give simple answers… the few times he had any answers, anyway.

* * *

 **AN: Wizarding population**

PotterWiki gives two numbers - 3,000 wizards in Britain, with a third of those students at Hogwarts; and a claim that wizards are outnumbered by muggles by a factor of 10. I'll start with the second by deciding that it is not wizards who are outnumbered but all magical races. This means that back in the 90's when the world population was 5 billion, there were 500 million assorted witches, wizards, goblins, vampires, merpeople, giants, veela, etc - basically any magical being capable of speech. As such, I am estimating the global wizard (humans only differentiated by being able to perform magic) population to be closer to 20 million at most, with Europe's being especially low due to Grindelwald and Voldie.

As for the first number, I don't know what 'Britain' is referring to. There is Great Britain, which is an island encompassing most of Scotland, Wales, and England. There is the UK, which encompasses Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. And there are the British Isles, which is the UK plus the Republic of Ireland. So, if instead we say that Great Britain has a population of 3,000, with a third of that being Hogwarts' population, it makes more sense since GB, as the most populated and urbanized land mass, would not be as safe for raising magical families in secrecy as the less populated Ireland or smaller islands. GB mostly has the wizards and witches who work or are comfortable in the muggle world or those who were too stubborn to move away when the muggle cities overtook their homes.

My estimates for the wizarding population of the British Isles are based on there being 1,000 students at Hogwarts, which includes all magical children aged 11-18, and assuming that they make-up 8% of the total population (significantly longer life-expectancy balanced by Voldie's death toll on adults). Harry's year may have been small, but that would have been due to 1979-1981 being the height of Voldie's terror attacks and parents doing their best not to have children, never mind the ones who died. So the other years would have been significantly larger, like triple or something.

GB: 2,000 general + 1,000 Hogwarts students

Northern Ireland: 2,000

Republic of Ireland: 5,000

Smaller Islands (some of which are unplottable): 2,500

Total: 12,500


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Some of Ollivander's speech is taken from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall was tallying acceptance letters for the coming year; though Hogwarts was compulsory, families who were expecting to leave the Isles often applied to other magical schools rather than continue to send their children to Britain. Frowning, Minerva double checked her numbers before giving a sad sigh; there were only 62 first-year students coming in that year, which was significantly smaller than other years. While there were only 80 second years, all other years were over a hundred each, with the seventh year having the largest cohort at 215 - one thousand students spread over seven years made for large class sizes. In past years students would be separated by year and house for classes (i.e. Gryffindors fourth years would have potions by themselves, etc.) and even by gender if needed, excepting for NEWT level and elective courses, which would see two houses together if there were few enough students. However, since there were so few first years, she may as well schedule two houses for each class - the part-time staff may enjoy a freer schedule than usual in the coming years.

Minerva was not only the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts but also the Head of Gryffindor House and Head of the Transfiguration department. For her last role, she wrote the lesson plans for all years and personally taught as many of the classes as she could. Due to a packed schedule, however, she usually ended up taking the theory lessons and leaving the practical lessons to Junior Professor Charles Smith, who also helped her with developing tests and assignments and then marking them. Most other full-time professors did the same and had their own junior staff (two for potions as it had the smallest class capacity for safety reasons), with the exception of Sybil Trelawney (Divination professor), who tended to get few students and so often combined years, and Silvanus Kettleburn (Care of Magical Creatures) who used Rubeus Hagrid (also Keeper of the Keys) as an unofficial assistant. There were also the prefects and Head boy and girl, who could be used to mark lower year assignments and oversee detentions if they were needed to.

Other part-time staff included seminar professors who came at various times during the year to give weekend courses on topics such as healing, art, and law. Usually, these were professionals who could be convinced to volunteer their time to Hogwarts so the seminar options often changed from year to year.

Minerva was halfway through updating the course schedules when Albus Dumbledore walked into her office, a tray of tea floating behind him. "Ready to start the betting pool?" Hogwarts' senior staff had a tradition of betting on where various new students ended up as well as what courses the sixth years would choose.

"Sorry Albus, but I'll need a few more minutes to finish up my work. We have even fewer students coming in this year, which requires more adjustments than usual." Minerva apologized as she continued working.

"No worries, my dear, so long as I'm not doing the work!" Albus said cheerfully to Minerva's amused glare. Honestly, sometimes the man acted more like an overgrown child than a venerated elder of 110. Even now, he reached into his pocket only to take out a sweet of some sort and pop it into his mouth!

Soon enough the other Heads of houses arrived: Filius for Ravenclaw, Pomona for Hufflepuff, and Severus for Slytherin. Ready to start betting, a list of incoming students was copied and shared around and each Head put tick marks next students they believed would be sorted into their house. This would help them to start memorizing names and connecting them to other students such as siblings and cousins. Dumbledore, supposedly impartial, would keep the four lists as well as the money until after the students were sorted. They would meet again afterward to determine who had the most accurate list. Similarly, lists of new sixth years were passed around and each professor would place a mark next to students they believed would make it into their courses. Dumbledore, who routinely gave seminars on alchemy if there were slots open, put marks next students he believed would attend his seminar. This list would be kept by the sorting hat, and the winner would have the honor of hosting the hat in their office. More often than not, Dumbledore would win this pot as most students showed up to at least his introductory seminar, so the hat rarely had the opportunity to go anywhere else.

Some first years were quickly ticked off - Zachary Smith was a Hufflepuff descendent while Draco Malfoy had been groomed for Slytherin from infancy. Others were not as easy, especially the muggleborns, though Snape was happy to discount them from his own list. Other names were hotly debated due to being known to the professors - McGonagall had the advantage of having already met the muggleborns but she had to answer honestly when asked about their personalities.

"Ms. Granger was very interested in gaining knowledge, but she was also quite taken with gaining a reputation for excellence."

"Mr. Finch-Fletchley was friendly and cheerful, and came from a well to do background."

Harry Potter's name drew a particularly large reaction from everyone.

"I've seen him play with the other children - very friendly and he made sure everyone had a fair turn. I think he will do excellent in Hufflepuff." Pomona said strongly as she puffed her chest and looked down her small nose at the others.

"I've seen him, too, and he seemed a very curious boy, always asking why and seeking answers. Ravenclaw is the house for him." Filius argued while firmly ticking Harry's name on the list.

"A daring boy, Gryffindor is where he'll be." Minerva also ticked his name.

"You lot can have him, I have no need for a conceited celebrity making trouble in my house." Severus did not place a mark next to Harry's name. He received disgruntled looks for his effort, but he just sneered back.

"Well, I haven't met him yet -" Dumbledore started to say before being interrupted.

"And who's fault is that? You know exactly where he is - exactly where you dropped him off ten years ago!" Minerva said heatedly; she still hadn't forgiven Albus for leaving Harry with the Dursleys.

"My dear, from all accounts he is doing well, and you know I cannot go see him without drawing the attention of the Ministry down on him." Albus rebuked gently.

"It's thanks to someone else taking a hand in things that he is doing well, no thanks to those normal-obsessed caricatures!" Minerva was not backing down, and Filius and Pomona both nodded along to what she was saying.

"Yes, yes, and thankful I am, too. You must remember the wards, Minerva, all of you. They will protect Harry from harm, and by growing up away from the infamy of his parents' deaths, he at least has a semblance of a normal childhood." Albus argued back.

Minerva continued to grumble under her breath, but she did not continue the argument. Harry was happy and well adjusted, and things turned out well in the end, so there really was no need to make a big issue of things.

The group quickly went back to their betting, leading to more cheerful discussion.

* * *

Harry (in disguise) and Neville were escorted by their guardians to Diagon Alley on August 5th - a weekday would be less crowded and most of the Hogwarts shopping rush was over with. There would be another closer to September 1st and a trickle of shopping students in the meantime, but a majority did their shopping the two weeks after receiving the Hogwarts' letters.

Their first stop was Ollivander who confirmed the importance of having the wand choose the wizard. He also inspected Frank Longbottom's wand and declared it too loyal to its previous owner to bond to Neville, which was disappointing for both Longbottoms. Neville tried several wands before showing results with thirteen-inch cherry wood and unicorn hair wand.

Harry took longer, significantly longer. Long enough that Neville and his grandmother decided to go out for ice cream to wait for Harry. Eventually he found his wand, which was 11" holly with a phoenix feather core.

While Ollivander's exposition on wands carried by other people was… something, his interest in Harry's scar was beyond the pale.

" _And that's where…"_ He got very close to Harry, which caused the boy to shuffle back in discomfort. Ollivander ignored this and continued closer, reaching out to touch his forehead. " _I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands ... Well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…"_

"You would have sold it anyway," Jackie said shortly, coming forward to pull Harry away. Harry's scar was now only a barely discernible pale pink line, but he still was very aware of it and hated having attention brought to it. Jackie knew this, so she continued, hoping to draw Ollivander's attention to her. "As the only accredited wand maker in Great Britain, you do not have the right to refuse service to underage children based on what they may or may not do in the future. To do so would be both unethical and illegal."

Contrary to her expectation, Ollivander laughed - a surprisingly deep sound. "Right you are! I often walk around the Alley, seeing my wands being used by all kinds of people, and though I am sorry to see them so ill-used and abused by some, I can never bring myself to regret putting hopes and dreams into the hands of children. It is not my place to judge their future endeavors, only to give them the tool to achieve their potential." With that, he went back to trying to match Harry to a wand.

Eventually (once his shop had been thoroughly destroyed to Harry's chagrin) Ollivander turned a thoughtful look to Harry. " _I wonder, now – yes, why not – unusual combination – holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."_

Harry took a hold of the pale wand and immediately felt something - a warmth both in the wand and in his chest, but not really his chest, more his center… Harry just knew that this was it, and it seemed that Ollivander did, too. A quick swish and undeniable proof was given, fiery sparks bursting from the tip of the wand.

Ollivander smiled and with a quick wave of his own wand put his shop back to rights." _Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well..._ I did not for the connection to be there, but then again, it may not be." Ollivander thought out loud as he packaged the wand for Harry.

Harry's interest was caught by this. "Excuse me, but what do you mean by 'connection'?"

Ollivander glanced at Jackie before looking at Harry. "I remember when You-Know-Who came for a wand. Pale skinned, dark hair and eyes, and hungry - for acceptance, for freedom, for acknowledgment. I knew he would be great, but I would never have guessed he would turn so dark. Raised in a muggle orphanage, he was, and happy to have made it to the Magical World." He gave a heavy sigh and shook his head before continuing. " _The phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand gave another feather – just one other._ I used it to make _his_ wand."

Harry startled at hearing the last and shot a panicked look at the packaged wand now in his hand.

Ollivander shook his head again before placing a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder (he had to reach over the counter). "The wand chooses the wizard, but it is the wizard's intent that shapes the magic. Holly wood often chooses those who have tempers in need of calming, who are protective by nature and have committed themselves to a spiritual quest. Phoenix feather wands have a great range of magic and are both powerful and picky. This feather, in particular, comes from Fawkes, a phoenix who makes his home at Hogwarts; you may even have the chance to meet him. This is a good wand, Mr. Potter, suited to someone whose earliest action protected the Wizarding World."

For the first time in their short acquaintance, Ollivander's words worked to soothe Harry, causing him to bring the wand box back towards his body. It was a good wand because he was going to be a good wizard, not some dark monstrosity like Voldie.

Jackie was also soothed - she did not want Harry to distrust his wand as they could lead to him not being able to utilize it fully. She quickly paid for the wand (it was her birthday gift to Harry this year) before saying goodbye to Ollivander and leaving his shop.

* * *

It was already noon, and Harry still needed to see his trust vault in order to determine what he needed to purchase new. After meeting up with Augusta and Neville, it was decided that the latter two would continue their shopping while Harry and Jackie would visit Gringotts. They would all meet back at the manor for dinner as the two groups may not finish at the same time.

Before then, they decided to all have lunch at a nearby bakery, where they all had a light lunch of tea and sandwiches. Jackie also bought a few extra to go as she expected her and Harry's day to be longer and wanted to have snacks on hand just in case.

"I'm here to access my vault, please." This was the first time that Harry had personally done business in Gringotts since usually, Jackie acted on his behalf. However, Jackie had passed to him her limited knowledge of how goblins preferred to do business (polite and to the point) and he had asked Professor Flitwick for further information, so Harry was only slightly nervous. Having Jackie there also helped to bolster his confidence and he was looking forward to their infamous cart rides.

"Name and key, please." The goblin held out his hand.

"Here it is, and Hadrian Potter." Harry hoped that by not saying his shortened name he could avoid the attention of anyone eavesdropping for it.

The goblin inspected the key, declared it valid, and had another goblin come to escort Harry and Jackie to vault 687. The ride was as fun as Harry dreamed, and it was a pink-cheeked boy (and a pale Jackie) who stood by as the vault door was unlocked.

It seemed that when the goblins had retrieved Harry's assets, they had gone to the bother of organizing them somewhat. The left side of the vault had literal hills of gold, silver, and copper coins; a counter to the side said there were near five million coins, but since it didn't differentiate between galleons, sickles, and knuts, Harry couldn't be sure how much exactly was in his vault.

The right side (which was only about a quarter of the room as the hills of coins took up most of the vault) had stacks of carefully labeled trunks in various sizes. Among the labels of 'Living room furniture' and 'kitchenware' were also Lily's and James' school trunks and several trunks worth of books. There was also a trunk labeled 'other' that Harry thought would be interesting since knickknacks had their own well-labeled trunk.

"Thank you, Griphook. We will be here for a while if you don't mind." Harry said to the goblin next to him who only nodded and sat a convenient shelf near the entrance of the vault. Apparently, he planned on waiting for them to finish. Shrugging, Harry made his way to his parents' school trunks.

"You have your list, Harry?" Jackie asked as she followed him.

"Yep." Harry absently took out his Hogwarts letter and passed it to Jackie to hold.

Looking through his parents' trunks, he found most of his textbook list (excepting the Defence books), his mother's old notes, his mother's school diaries, and a list of jokes his father thought were funny. While his mother's equipment had not weathered the time well, his father's had been of better quality and he was able to recycle them for his own use. This included the telescope, a handful of crystal potion vials, and brass scales.

In the trunk labeled 'Pictures' he not only found several photo albums but also paintings of his ancestors (sadly their animation was very limited so they could only hold simple conversations). He ended up only taking his own baby album as it had pictures of his parents holding him, but the others he left for when he set up his own house and had the room to display them properly.

Before leaving the vault, Harry insisted on looking into the 'other' trunk. It ended up being full of inventions from previous generations of Potters, a preserved layer of his parents' wedding cake, and, among other things, a silvery piece of clothing and Jackie immediately identified as an invisibility cloak.

"I need this! It's great!" Harry laughed as he round around the vault, invisible to the other occupants.

"Harry, you're not taking this with you," Jackie said sternly.

"But whyyyy?!" Harry positively whined while clutching the cloak to himself.

"Because giving an eleven-year-old the power of invisibility is only asking for trouble. Also, that is more than an ordinary invisibility cloak. If anything happens to it, or it gets stolen, then you'll probably never get it back."

"How about, I won't take it to Hogwarts, but can I play with it now? We'll put it back before going back to the Dursleys."

The goblin chose to speak up at that point. "Once an item is removed from the vault, it may not be put back."

"Aww man!" Harry took off the cloak and put it back in the trunk with a morose air… he really wanted it, but Jackie was right. He knew that Piers Polkiss had a habit of stealing things from other children, and he also knew that magic didn't mean there wasn't a similarly minded student running around Hogwarts. In any case, there was an invisibility charm he could use (after learning) if he needed it. Best to leave the cloak behind, protected by Gringotts.

"Come on Harry, you can use your father's trunk too. It's still in good condition, you only need to take it to the luggage store to have the charms redone." So saying, Jackie began to move what was in James' old trunk to Lily's and organizing what they had chosen to take with them into James' trunk. She also had Harry count out 50 galleons into a money pouch - this would be used to purchase Harry's other things with extra given to Harry as an allowance. With Harry's help, everything only took a few minutes and soon they were on their way out of Gringotts.

At the luggage store, Harry not only paid to have the trunk fixed up, but he also bought a school bag which was charmed with limited expansion capabilities and a weak featherlight (it would weigh about half of what it should).

Afterward, Harry and Jackie went around Diagon Alley gathering everything else Harry needed, namely his uniform, cauldron, Defence book, recommended potions' ingredients for first years, and a set of crystal phials (he would use the extras as backups).

Their final destination was Eeylops Owl Emporium where Harry planned to purchase an owl for himself. The store was small and dark, with owls in cages hanging everywhere. When the shopkeeper came to greet them she spoke very softly, as if trying to soothe a child. "We a variety of owls, many of them perfectly suited to Hogwarts students as they can carry packages long distance."

Harry was scarcely paying attention to her as he had already caught sight of a beautiful snowy owl who was staring back at him. Jackie, having noticed his distraction (and wanting this day to be over) quickly pointed to the snowy owl. "How about that one?"

"Oh, yes, a very good choice. Very intelligent she is, and rare. 15 galleons, and an extra five for a cage, stand, and enough feed for a month. She can hunt for her own dinner at Hogwarts."

"15 galleons!?" Jackie's own brown owl, Jimmy, had been purchased for half that and he was a quality owl!

"Rare, as I said, and has more magical affinity than most other owls."

"I'll take her!" Harry said firmly even as he was already taking down her cage. He sent a grin at Jackie as he let the owl gently nibble his fingers. "See, she already likes me!" Harry had been waiting a long time to get a pet. Petunia was allergic to cats, and Harry had met Trevor. Owls were allowed at Hogwarts, served an important function, and he was sure Neville would let her stay at the manor if Vernon proved a problem.

As Harry paid for the snowy owl and her accessories with his allowance Jackie decided to go along with it. She did seem to be fond of Harry, and an owl was a great pet for a young wizard. Due to having so both the owl cage and Harry's trunk with them, Jackie decided to floo to the Longbottom manor rather than apparate. Using the Leaky's fireplace, Harry, Jackie, and the yet unnamed owl made it just in time for dinner.

* * *

 **AN: Wizarding Currency and Pricing**

It is often pointed out that Wizarding economy as explained by Rowling makes little sense, and for that reason I am going to outline my rules for the economy. The rules I am presenting will be based on 2016 money, so when I say £1, I am talking about the purchasing power that £1 has in 2016 (approximately equal to the purchasing power of £0.31 in 1982). The purchasing power of wizarding currency does not change because the goblins keep it constant. As such, it is only the exchange rate of muggle to wizarding currency that changes over time. Also, some muggle prices that I can't find from the time period (i.e. baby food in 1980's) I'm estimating as 25% of modern prices (as inflation has been an approximately 307% increase in price levels over the past 40 years in UK).

Canon economic rules I am keeping:

1 galleon = 17 sickles = 493 knuts.

1 galleon = £3 in 1982 = £4.93 in 1991 = £10.30 in 2016.

Rules I am making up:

Average daily wage = 10 galleons = £103 in 2016 - this is lower than what muggles make, but the wizarding world is slightly cheaper due to magic powering their production process.

Basically, the price level is on average a third lower than in the muggle economy. The difference is much greater in some sectors (example: housing and non-magical food), while in other sectors there is very little difference (example: vehicles and other transportation methods).

A galleon has a small seed of gold in the very middle of it that is valued £9-11 in 2016, depending on how the gold market is doing. That means that selling a galleon in the muggle world is not profitable. However, due to gold not being reproducible by magic (except the Philosopher's stone), it means that galleons can't be forged without the forgery being caught via a simple spell that checks for gold. Similarly, sickles and knuts hold tiny amounts of gold, equal to their respective values.

Cost of school supplies:

In the UK in recent years, parents spend approximately £250 outfitting their kids for school not including uniforms. This is about 16 galleons when you take the 33% decrease in price level into account. UK school uniforms are approximately £96 in 2014. Again, with the 33% decrease in price levels, this rounds to 9 galleons.

Both UK estimates are from the article "Cost of kitting out kids for school hits £240 per child – totalling £2.5bn" by Rebecca Smithers posted on The Guardian website on Aug 28, 2014.

Wands cost an additional 7 galleons, totalling to 32 galleons if you buy everything new.

Harry's net worth in August, 1991:

Two townhouses = £170,000 = 34,483 galleons

Farming Estate = ?lots?, with 800 galleon annual income

Gringott's vault = ?lots?

Other (heirlooms, books, clothing) = ?lots?

Harry's accessible income 1991:

Monthly rent income = £400 = 81 galleons

Interest from savings account = £150 = £12.5 monthly = 2.5 galleons

Annual income from Gringott's = 400 galleons = 33.3 galleons monthly = £164.3


	5. Chapter 5

August 10th came and went, as did the rest of August. Walter, Neville's cousin, had been tasked with tutoring Neville and Harry for a few hours a day for most of Harry's stay at the manor. While both boys had studied Hogwarts main subjects before, Walter had been able to give them good tips and study habits tailored to each professor; for example, Professor Snape expected his students to come prepared by reading all the class material (including footnotes) and researching the ingredients to be used that day. Professor Flitwick, on the other hand, preferred students only skim the material before class and then read it more thoroughly afterward - this way they would not learn bad habits on their own and instead pay close attention to him during class. Professor Binns was to be mostly ignored and instead all students would be provided with a study guide in the beginning of the year - they were expected to self-study history and complete the assignments outlined in the given class schedule and place them in the box outside their Head of house's office upon completion.

Professor Binns was a headache for Hogwarts' administration due to his employment contract. Before his death and subsequent return as a ghost, Hogwarts' teaching contracts gave teaching positions for life and explicitly outlined what reasons the Headmaster may use to terminate their employment, most of these being illegal acts or issues that endanger students; the Department Heads bore the responsibility of determining if a junior professor was unfit to teach. It was expected that after death, professors would be polite enough to resign on their own… not so for Binns who refused to acknowledge his death! As such, Hogwarts was not legally allowed to fire him due to his contract still being in effect (this led to changes made for future contracts). They couldn't even hire others to teach history because Binns was the Head of the department and he refused to hold interviews as they got in the way of his naps! So, for decades Hogwarts students have been asked to self-study history, making it the least popular NEWT course at Hogwarts and severely decreasing Hogwarts standing in the international community.

Jackie and Harry apparated to Jackie's flat midmorning on August 10th so that she could drive him to Private Dr. in full view of the muggle neighbors. It took two trips to bring Harry and his things, though Hedwig (his newly named owl) elected to fly rather than be apparated. While Harry planned to keep a stand and food and water dishes for Hedwig in his room for when she visited, Hedwig was expected to spend most of the summers at Jackie's with Jimmy in order to avoid questions from Dudley. Harry's school trunk and most of his magical items would also stay at Jackie's due to the agreement between her and the Dursleys.

On their way to #4 Jackie and Harry stopped by some used bookstores to pick up muggle textbooks for Harry - like her brother had done for her, Jackie planned to homeschool Harry in his muggle subjects. She had already ordered a homeschooling kit from the government and had given Harry an outline of subject topics he would need to cover during the first term. Mostly, he was to continue advancing his maths and sciences, read a few historical novels, and keep up with his violin. Harry had taken French in school, but he had not taken well to it, mostly because he didn't know any native speakers to practice with. Jackie had given thoughts to making him continue but decided against it. She didn't want him to feel overwhelmed or get annoyed with all the extra work - what she had given him amounted to an extra hour a day, with a big chunk of that going to violin practice. It was just enough for him to be able to pass an annual exam with the help of extra tutoring from Jackie, especially since he was already a bit ahead of his year level.

* * *

The rest of August saw Harry back into the flow of his extracurricular activities. It seemed as if no time had passed only for him to wake up early on September 1st and realize that, yes actually, Sunday does come after Saturday.

This being a Sunday, King's Cross was less crowded than usual, which didn't mean much when you considered how crowded it usually was. Hedwig had again been sent ahead, this time to Hogwarts, while her cage and other accruments had been shrunk and packed into his trunk. Harry and Jackie made their way towards platform 9¾ with only Harry's school bag and trunk in the luggage cart which allowed them to pass unnoticed by the muggles.

"Alright, here it is. Now, just casually walk through, Harry, and quickly move to the side so you don't get knocked by the person after you." Jackie said softly to Harry while pretending to groom his hair.

Harry had a cowlick, which is when the hairs grew in a spiral direction, getting in the way of each other and ending up giving the impression of a bird's nest. It was the height of irony that his grandfather, Fleamont, had developed the Sleakeasy formula specifically to manage the Potter hair only to fail personally but succeed financially - it seemed like Potters carried part of their stubbornness in their hair. All that is to say the hair potion did not work on Harry's hair unless he drowned himself in it and looked like he was wearing a grease helmet.

"Got it - walk through a wall and then step to the side." Knowing Jackie too well to think she was pulling his leg, Harry straightened his posture and walked into the barrier between platforms nine and ten, closing his eyes at the last second. Opening them again, he found himself facing a big red engine as well as a platform with a few dozen Hogwarts students and their families. Quickly stepping to the side, Harry turned to watch as first the luggage cart then Jackie made it through as well. With a grin at Jackie, Harry hurried on the train and started looking for an empty compartment. It was early (barely 9:30) so he expected to find a few at least.

Jackie followed him, though she had pause to put the luggage cart away - she could now use magic to float his things ahead of her. "I get that you are very excited, Harry, but that doesn't mean you can forget your manners and leave me to act as a pack mule." Jackie admonished in an amused voice.

Harry winced and poked his head out of the empty compartment he'd chosen. "Sorry, Aunt Jackie, I lost my head a bit," Harry said with an apologetic look. Jackie was big on manners, and Harry's impulsive nature sometimes made him forget the need to be polite.

The two quickly got Harry settled, and since it was still early, Jackie elected to wait a bit with him, especially as Neville and Augusta had been lucky enough to gain a floo ticket. Platform 9¾ had two great fireplaces which were managed by Ministry employees to avoid accidents from too many attempting to floo at the same time. Families were given tickets with timestamps (8:35, 8:40, etc.) which indicated when they were to floo in. One fireplace was used to floo in while the other was used to floo out - this one usually just had a lineup. Due to her age (and strong personality), Augusta had been able to get a good time for the floo (10:45) and so would not have to scramble in the morning. For safety reasons, there was a strong anti-apparation ward over the platform that prevented that form of travel.

Harry had chosen to come early mostly to get away from Vernon's glares - his uncle had not taken the arrival of the letter well and had been impatient for Harry to leave and take his 'freakishness' with him. Harry had been picked up in Jackie's car more than an hour earlier as she had taken him out for a farewell breakfast in a muggle cafe before driving into King's Cross. Now though he was slightly regretting the decision - all this waiting was beginning to make him nervous. Though Jackie tried to calm him down by talking about various aspects of Hogwarts and giving him advice, he still became more agitated with every minute that passed.

"What house do you think I'll get sorted into?" He still didn't actually understand the sorting process, but since Jackie had experienced it, she could give him valuable insight.

Jackie smiled patiently and repeated what she'd told him a dozen times before. "My old house, Hufflepuff, is known for accepting dedicated individuals who value hard-work and fairness. We also tend to be patient and loyal, and though we're supposed to be accepting of others, that part isn't always true. Ravenclaws are knowledge seekers, but they also tend to be creative thinkers who use their wit and intelligence to solve problems and find solutions. Contrary to popular opinion, Ravenclaws are not obsessed with making good grades but are instead interested in making valuable contributions in whatever field they're obsessed with.

"Gryffindors and Slytherins are odd in that they are in many ways similar, but also opposite. They both house individuals interested in fame, but while Gryffindors want to be known for dashing acts of bravery and chivalry, Slytherins want to be the best at something, to stand out, and they're not afraid to go against societal expectations to reach their goals. Gryffindors are daring, but Slytherins dare."

Harry nodded along thinking over what she was saying. When he was very young and first learning about Hogwarts, he had wanted to be in Hufflepuff because of Jackie, and even as he had gotten older he'd only grown stronger in his desire as he'd come to understand how horrible his life would have been if Jackie didn't stand between him and Vernon, and even Petunia. But then he and Neville started to talk more about their parents and suddenly Gryffindor became the house to be, especially since Harry didn't consider himself to be a very patient person. With his new found interest in being himself, however, he didn't want to go into a house only because his parents had before him. So now he was stuck trying to puzzle out which house he would be sorted into. Groaning loudly he put his face in his hands and started rubbing roughly as Jackie chuckled.

"Harry, don't worry about the sorting. Really, while it is seven years of your life, it doesn't mean you can't work on developing the positive attributes of all the houses. In fact, I encourage you to do so and to make at least one close friend from each house while avoiding enemies. Whatever colors you wear, you'll still be Harry." Jackie looked out the window and realized many more students had arrived while they had been conversing. Checking her watch, she was surprised to find that it was already 10:34. Getting up, she reached over to hug Harry. "I should leave so I won't scare away other first years, but I'll be right on the other side of the window, alright? You'll be fine, Harry, have faith."

Before long, Neville and Augusta's floo time arrived and Jackie made her way closer to the fireplaces to make it easier to find them. Harry really wanted to share his compartment with Neville but by now the platform was so crowded, it would have taken Neville an hour to find him.

Neville was quickly settled beside Harry and Jackie and Augusta said their goodbyes and headed out as they didn't want to get caught in the crowds all trying to leave at 11. Neville and Harry had fun trying to spot students they've met before and had just seen Walter get pulled onto the train by his friends when a crowd of redheads came through the barrier.

"Who are they? Shouldn't they have been some of the ones with priority for the fireplaces?" Harry asked as the very loud group continued to keep his attention.

Neville turned his eye to where Harry was looking. "Oh, no, those are the Weasleys. They usually volunteer to do the sweep."

"The what?" Harry pulled a confused face but continued to watch the red-haired family; the mother was passing out hugs while obviously twin boys teased a younger sister. The oldest boy kept adjusting something on his chest and looking around importantly whilst trying to help his mother keep track of the youngest boy.

"The sweep. See, the Ministry was afraid some muggleborns would be too scared to go through the barrier, so a family is asked to arrive just in time and make a lot of noise as they use the barrier so the muggleborns can ask them for help if they get lost or something. The Weasleys are great at this since there are so many of them and they're so cheerful." Neville explained while checking his pocket to make sure Trevor was still there - he was.

"But doesn't that go against the Statute of Secrecy?"

"Well, they have charms on to make them seem uninteresting to muggles, so it's no problem. Anyway, see the one with plain school robes? He's the sixth boy, and that's his only sister. There are also supposed to be a pair of twins and another brother at Hogwarts. The other two have already graduated. Walter was a big fan of Charlie Weasley on account of how good he was on a broom, could have made professional, you know." Neville went to his school bag and pulled out his own plain school robes. "Come on, let's change into our robes; I don't know why you like muggle clothing so much, the material is so rough."

Harry laughed at Neville's dislike of jeans but went ahead and pulled out his robes, too. After closing the compartment door and pulling the blinds, the two took off the muggle outerwear and replaced it with their uniforms. Wizarding clothing was very reminiscent of the robes Middle Eastern people wore back in the Middle Ages, with layered robes in bright colors and patterns, even for the men. Thankfully, Hogwarts' uniforms consisted of a single close fronted robe in the color of the student's house (yellow, blue, green, or red) with a band of color (black, copper, silver, or gold) at the hems. Unsorted students wore all black robes that changed color once they were sorted. Under the robes, students wore white dress shirts, pants or skirts (most opted for pants for weather reasons), and a tie (banded in the house colors). The robes had a large V neckline that allowed for the shirt collars and ties to show through and were cinched in at the waist. For all that they looked like they should hamper movement, they didn't and were in fact very comfortable and easy to wear. Due to the amount of time he'd spent in the Magical World, Harry was quite used to wizarding fashion and had brought a few extra robes with him to wear during the weekends. His only muggle outerwear was a set for football in case he found other people interested in a pick-up game.

Having changed, the boys pulled the blinds back up and opened the compartment door - by this point, the train had begun to move but there were still students looking for a seat and they didn't want to hog a whole compartment to themselves. It was a good thing they did as not five seconds later the youngest Weasley boy showed up dragging his trunk behind him. "Do mind?" He seemed hesitant and was very red-faced.

Neville, kind soul that he was, immediately made room for him on his bench. "Not at all, come in. I'm Neville."

"I'm Harry. Need a hand?" Harry and Neville helped Ron put his trunk away and the three boys all sat down.

After being stared at for a few minutes, the boy jumped in realization. "Oh, right, sorry. I'm Ron." The now extremely red-faced Ron said. Looking for something else to say, he pulled a rat out of his pocket. "And this is Scabbers, my rat who I inherited from my brother."

"I have a toad named Trevor, but he's in a charmed sleep in my pocket; I'm afraid I'd lose him if I take him out," Neville explained before looking at Harry.

"I have an owl named Hedwig, but she flew ahead to Hogwarts." Harry finished the pet introductions before moving onto a new topic. "Are you a fan of Quidditch, Ron?"

"Am I?!"

The rest of the train ride until lunch was spent discussing Quidditch teams, plays, and latest results. Ron's beloved Chudley Cannons were unfortunately not Harry and Neville's team, both of whom supported the Kenmore Kestrels. Though Ron would never admit it, it was Harry's firm opinion that half of Ron's fondness for the Cannons came from their team color of orange. Neville just thought he liked to support lost causes.

When the trolley lady came by with snack none of the boys bought anything.

"We have packed lunches," Neville answered for him and Harry. Tilly, the Longbottom house-elf, had packed both boys turkey sandwiches on rye, freshly squeezed lemonade, and a selection of fruits and biscuits.

"I do, too," Ron said less enthusiastically. He took out a bedraggled sandwich from his pocket only to groan. "She gave me Percy's corned beef again, and I'll never find him to switch!"

"I like corned beef," Harry said reaching for the package.

"I do, too. Here, do you like turkey?" Neville pushed the lunch basket closer to Ron. "And there is extra juice and snacks if you want."

"Thanks." Ron smiled and handed each a sandwiches before picking up a turkey one. Neville poured each of them a glass of juice (Tilly had packed four glasses in case they wanted to share) and the three did what growing boys the world over loved to do - eat.

"What houses do you think you'll end up in?" Ron asked before taking a bite out of the chocolate biscuit in his hand.

"We're not sure. We asked my cousin Walter and he said it would be based on our personality, whatever that means." Neville answered past his own sugar biscuit.

"My brothers told me I'd have to fight a troll, but I think they were joking." Ron looked like he really hoped his brothers were joking.

Harry grinned and shook his head. "Walter said we wouldn't actually have to do anything - no exams, or dueling, or making things. What house do you want?"

"Gryffindor, of course. My whole family is there, have been for generations." Ron looked alarmed at going anywhere else. "What about you two?"

"I'm hoping for Gryffindor, but honestly I'm happy just to have made it to Hogwarts." At Ron's look, Neville explained. "I didn't show signs of magic until I was eight, we all thought I was a squib."

"I didn't."

"Harry, I didn't meet you until after the window incident! But yes," Neville turned back to Ron. "Harry used to say I'm an idiot whenever I mentioned not getting a letter."

Ron was nodding understandingly. "One of my mum's cousin is a squib, but we don't like to talk about it. He's very bitter and refuses to speak to us. Works as an accountant or something in the muggle world." Shaking his head as if to clear away the thought, Ron went back to his original question. "What about you, Harry? What house do you want?"

"I'm… not sure. I just want to be myself, not be judged by who my parents were." Harry said slowly.

"Who wer-" Ron began only to be interrupted by the new arrivals.

"Ronnie-kins!"

"Glad we found you, little brother!"

"Getting along well, I see. Making friends-"

"Eating, drinking. Mum will be pleased."

"Make sure to check your food though. Never know what could be in it. Hahaha!" The two identical boys were laughing at their joke while Ron steadily became more annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah, yack it up, you two," Turning to Neville and Harry, Ron gave them a warning. "Don't trust anything they give you, it's bound to be booby-trapped. Last week they gave me a chocolate frog only for it to turn to slime once I bit into it!"

Harry and Neville made commiserating sounds (though they did think it was a very funny prank) over the twins' laughter.

"We are Fred and George Weasley, pranksters extraordinaire."

"Purveyors of mischief, sowers of chaos."

"You've been warned!" The last they said together before leaving the compartment.

Harry and Neville sent pitying looks at Ron.

"You live with them?" Neville asked.

"And they're in Gryffindor?" Harry wanted this confirmed.

Ron could only groan in answer to both questions.

Eventually, there was an announcement that the train was near Hogsmeade station. Ron quickly changed into his own uniform before the boys gathered up the things they'd taken out of their luggage things and put them away. Leaving everything except Trevor and Scabbers behind (as per instructions), they exited the train with the hoard of other students.

"FIRST YEARS! FIRST YEARS THIS WAY!" A giant man was holding up a lantern and gathering the first years around him. Harry could see that the prefects were also helping to direct the first years to the man who must be Hagrid. "Is this everyone? Well, come on then! Follow me!" And Hagrid lead them to Hogwarts, presumably. Harry really had no idea, but Jackie had told him he could trust Hagrid to not harm him.

'Well, Hogwarts, here I come.' Harry thought as he followed Hagrid off the platform.

* * *

AN: I plan to go back and edit every once in a while, but for now it would be really helpful if mistakes were pointed out to me. I literally write and post a chapter on the same day, and since I want to keep up with daily updates, I don't have a lot of time for editing. Also, I've pretty much already decided Harry's sorting, but this is your last chance to change my mind.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: I realized that the PotterWiki page only listed 42 first-year students, not 62, so I had to add a bunch of extra people. I did try to use existing magical names, and most of them will not actually show up in the story as I prefer to stick to canon characters. A few will show up more due to being Harry's roommates.

* * *

Harry, Neville and Ron were joined by another boy, Kevin, in their boat ride to Hogwarts. Harry had been to Hogsmeade several times, but Hogwarts could not be seen from the village so his first sight of Hogwarts was its outline against a darkening sky, windows shining with a warm glow - it was beautiful. All Harry could do was grin, and when he looked at his companions he saw that they were grinning, too, though he hoped his grin wasn't as dopey looking.

Eventually, the boats reached the other side of the lake and Hagrid lead them to the great front doors. His knock (more of a battering if Harry was being honest) was answered by Professor McGonagall dressed in emerald robes. "The first years, Professor."

"So I see, Hagrid, thank you. Follow me, children." She turned and walked to a large space between what looked to be the main staircase of the castle and another set of double doors. "The start of term banquet ... while you are waiting." [Fill in her original speech from the books.] With that she went through the doors, closing them firmly behind her.

That didn't tell them how the sorting would take place, either! Harry had paid attention to her speech hoping for a clue, but nothing!

"It's a conspiracy, they want us scared!" Ron accused clutching his wand as if he planned to use it, and his words were greeted by nods from those around him. Neville, meanwhile, looked like he was caught between holding Ron down or edging away from the mad boy.

"No, they don't, they're professionals! It's probably a test of some sort, I hope the rest of you read your books! _I_ have and I feel very prepared!" She didn't look very prepared, though - the bushy haired girl was obviously nervous and had gone back to muttering magical trivia under her breath.

"No, it's not! My father would have told me if it was!" A pointy faced, extremely blond boy said in a loud voice that tried to be commanding but came off as whiny.

"It's not, I was told it wouldn't be an exam or a duel. It's something to do with 'personality' and how we think. We don't actually have to do anything." Harry agreed with a great deal of frustration. He was eleven, for Magic's sake, he didn't have a personality yet! He still had no idea what personality meant exactly, but he was sure it had something to do with puberty.

The bushy haired girl wasn't the only one who looked disappointed by this, but she didn't have time to answer as the double doors opened and McGonagall came out. "Come on now, two by two, please," and she lead them to Hogwarts great hall.

The bushy haired girl continued to mutter under her breath - Harry had the bad luck to be right behind her and he found it very annoying - though this time she seemed to be giving a lecture on the great hall ceiling and why it looked like the night sky. Finally, the long line of student reached the front of the hall where the Professors were seated. In front of them was a stool with a battered hat on it. There was a moment of silence and then the hat opened a flap and began to sing.

"We just have to put on a hat!? Oh, Fred and George are so going to get it!" Ron said from beside Hermione only to be shushed by her. Ron gave her an annoyed look but was prevented from commenting due to Professor McGonagall calling out a students name.

"Abbot, Hannah" Spent a minute under the hat before being sorted to Hufflepuff. Student after student followed her, each spending a few moments or minutes under the Hat before being sorted. The bushy haired girl, Hermione Granger, spent nearly four minutes under the Hat before going to Gryffindor (to Ron's disgusted groan) while the pointy-faced boy, Draco Malfoy (Harry was used to such Wizarding names after spending so much time in the Wizarding World) barely put on the hat before going to Slytherin. Neville's sorting was quick, too, though it still took half a minute. He gave Harry a smile when he was done, though, to let him know it was nothing to worry over.

Finally, "Potter, Harry" was called out. There was an immediate muttering of interest in the hall as some of the older students (who were seated at four large tables that ran the length of the great hall) stood up to get a good look at the 'boy-who-lived' much to McGonagall's obvious disapproval.

Ron gave a squeak of surprise when Harry moved forward - he had just realized who he had spent most of the day with. Plenty of wide eyes followed Harry as he walked to the stool and sat down. Taking off his school hat, Harry tried to stay calm as everyone looked at him - he was fine with attention and had given several public performances on his violin, but there was a difference between being on stage to do something he'd trained and prepared for, and being the center of attention for something he couldn't remember. Thankfully, the hat was too big for his head and fell down over his eye, which allowed him to ignore everyone and focus on being sorted, especially as, as soon as the Hat's rim fully covered his eyes, Harry felt as if he had entered a bubble of silence.

'Saying I sort based on personality is an oversimplification. No, I sort students based on who they are, their core self, which has already developed by age eleven, though most still require a bit of refining.' A warm voice spoke into his head. This must be the Sorting Hat!

'My core self?' Harry wondered.

'Yes. Take Mr. Longbottom for example - meeting you has given him more confidence and daring, but even without your influence, he would have gone to Gryffindor. At his core, he is an honorable lad brave enough to stand up for what's right regardless of the cost.'

Harry sat up at this. 'And… I'm not?' This was insulting, but how could he argue with a thousand-year-old relic?

'You've already realized what the cost is, and been forced to pay it. No, Mr. Potter, you will do what is right, but you will always look for ways to reduce the cost, to skew the bargain in your favor. I will also add that Gryffindors judge themselves based on social norms while you prefer to use your own standards.'

'Neville paid it, too.' Harry pointed out - it's not that he really wanted to be in Gryffindor (though it would have been nice to share a room with Neville), he just didn't want to be unworthy of being there.

'His parents' fate is not tied directly to them fighting in a guerrilla war, the war had already ended by then. He also still has a family, you lost everything. Furthermore, most decided you were a hero for surviving but looked down on Neville for being in very similar circumstances. You, Mr. Potter, have developed a distrust for common opinion and work hard to develop your own.'

'You want me to go to Slytherin, don't you?' Harry was beginning to see where the Hat was going with this; it was similar to what Jackie had told him regarding the four houses - Gryffindors are daring while Slytherins dare.

'You would do well there. And, if I could impose on you, the children I have so far placed in Slytherin are still in need of refinement. You can help them see a different side to things, take them beyond the ideals their parents have enclosed them with. You will be yourself there, achieve your ambition, but you could also help them be themselves, too.'

'But I will not be welcome.' Harry didn't want to be stuck with some two hundred children who all blamed him for their family members being in Azkaban or dead.

'Perhaps. Children are cruel, and you represent a target their parents would approve of. You will have to make your own place, prove your worth.' The Hat gave a sigh. 'It is your choice, Mr. Potter. There is enough here for me to pick another house, but if you truly wish to be yourself…'

'...It'll have to be Slytherin.'

'Yes, it will have to be…' "SLYTHERIN!" The last word was shouted to the great hall and it burst the bubble Harry was under, though it didn't make much difference to what he could hear; when McGonagall lifted the Hat from Harry's head he saw that he was still the center of attention, though now the hall was nearly silent.

"What." Ron's blank word broke the silence, and Slytherins began clapping enthusiastically as they had done for the other first years sorted into their house. Harry put his school hat back on and made his way to the far right table. His uniform had already changed to green and silver which helped him feel like he belonged in the sea of green and silver he was joining. A space was made for him between Daphne Greengrass and Gregory Goyle. Before anyone could say anything McGonagall went on with the sorting and Rhiannon Pucey joined Harry at the Slytherin table.

Eventually the last name, "Zabini, Blaise," was called and the sorting ceremony was over. Harry had spent all the sorting (even before he was sorted, himself) keeping track of everyone's names. Some he remembered meeting in his time in the Wizarding World, but most were new to him. He remembered Jackie's advice to make friends in all houses, which was doubly important now that he was a Slytherin - he needed to prove that he was not a dark wizard or a blood supremacist.

Honestly, most Slytherins probably were not, but when their most famous members in the last few generations were, people started forgetting that eleven-year-olds rarely understood half the things they parroted back from their parents. Dudley, for example, didn't know what a communist was, he just knew his father didn't like them, so he didn't like them. Dudley was also happy to dislike Japanese made cars and Indian food, neither of which he could point to if presented with a line-up.

Once McGonagall had sat down in the seat beside Dumbledore's, the great wizard himself got up. " _Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are:_ _Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."_

The first years were left to stare in confusion at the Headmaster while the older students laughed and started serving themselves from the food that had just appeared.

"Drumstick?" Goyle was already reaching for the serving dish but he was looking at Harry.

Harry gave his head a shake before smiling at Goyle. "Yes, please, just one. Would you like some mashed potatoes?" That dish was nearer to Harry and just out of Goyle's reach.

As he continued filling his plate Harry had the opportunity to speak to his other seatmates - other than Greengrass and Goyle, Zabini was sitting across from Harry and to his right was Theodore Nott while Draco Malfoy was to Zabini's left. The dinner conversation revolved mostly around what they knew of the teachers and what classes they were looking forward to.

"I've met Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout, and they're nice enough, though as you've seen, McGonagall can be quite strict." Harry said as dinner was replaced by dessert.

"I've met Professor Flitwick, too, and he seems very fun! I can't wait for his class!" Greengrass had already stated her preference for charms above all the other courses, so her enthusiasm was not much of a surprise.

"I've met Professor Snape - he's good friends with my father, you know - and as long as you pay attention and do your work, he will not have an issue with you. Well, except you," Malfoy looked pointedly at Harry. "He hated your father, and he's already been complaining about you coming to Hogwarts."

"I haven't even met the man - either of them!" Harry exclaimed in shocked distress. "Oh, and potions is supposed to be a tough class, too. What am I going to do now?"

"Forget potions, he's our head of house!" Nott said with a wild laugh. "Potter, I'm sorry, but you have horrible luck."

"Don't worry, Harry - may I call you Harry?" Harry nodded dumbly as Malfoy continued. "You may call me Draco - I will speak to him on your behalf, explain things to him. You are right, you shouldn't be judged by a man you didn't really know, even if he was your father. Just sit by me in class and do what I do, you'll be sure to stay off his list then." Draco loved being the center of things, and with Harry Potter next to him, he was bound to have a front-row seat to things.

"List? He has a list?" Greengrass squeaked.

"Oh, yes. Very big into grudges, he is, keeps track of everything. You want to make sure to stay off that list!" Draco actually had no idea about any such list, but he was enjoying being listened to and taken seriously too much to let lack of knowledge get in his way.

They all turned to look at Professor Snape - in his all black robes, a scowl on his face with glaring eyes staring down his nose at the poor professor in the turban, it was very believable that such a wizard would keep a list of people that could potentially be used for potions' ingredients. The other five all turned to Harry and gave him sympathetic looks with Goyle going as far as to pat his shoulder pityingly.

In an effort to change the subject, Nott said the first thing to pop into his mind. "So, Potter, didn't see you on the train."

"Oh, I arrived early and just sat in the first empty compartment I found. I spent the train ride with Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley." Harry was happy to go along with the subject change.

"Weasley! But he's a blo- OW!" Draco glared at Zabini who coolly ignored him and continued the conversation.

"Did you know them from before?" Zabini asked.

"I knew Neville - we met at a Quidditch game when we were… eight, I think? We got along so well, our guardians decided to let us meet up more often."

"I've never seen you at a Quidditch game, Harry Potter showing up would have been big news." Draco seemed miffed to have missed Harry so thoroughly.

"Well, I had to go in disguise, didn't I? I usually had my hair and eyes charmed brown and used a different name."

"Makes sense, I suppose, though now I'm wondering who your guardians are." Nott hinted, not wanting to outright ask.

"I live with my mother's muggle relatives-"

"WHAT!?" All five shouted at once before beginning to speak one over the other.

"Harry Potter was raised by muggles?"

"When my father hears about this!"

"What were they like?" They all turned incredulous faces to Goyle, who had asked that last question. Goyle, noticing this, shrugged. "I've never met a muggle before, I want to know."

"Well, Goyle, curiosity is a great trait to have. Just like horses are pegasi without wings, muggles are wizards without magic. Some are fat, some are skinny, some are smart, some are stupid, some are rich, some are poor, and some are nice while others are mean. But because they don't have magic, they have to use machines and electricity to make their lives easier. There are also a lot more of them, about five billion."

"Five...billion…?" Draco was near hysterics at the thought of there being so many dirty muggles running around. If his father knew about this, no wonder he thought they were such a problem!

The others were also astonished, but Goyle was willing to keep asking questions. "But you enjoyed living with them?"

"I wouldn't say that." Harry saw their faces and quickly explained. "It was fine, and they treated me well, it's just that we didn't understand each other. I think wizards and muggles are different, the way centaurs and goblins are different. Doesn't mean they should attack each other, just that they should stay out of each other's way. Living with muggles was uncomfortable because there was no magic, only me. I loved visiting the Wizarding World because it felt like I could breathe, I could be myself, and I wasn't constantly worried about the breaking the Statute of Secrecy. There are a lot of fun things to do in the muggle world, and when I'm older, I'll definitely keep visiting it, but I don't want to live there, not once I'm an adult." Harry had never had to articulate his feelings regarding the muggle world before so he didn't have any words prepared, but he hoped that they understood what he meant.

Goyle nodded. "Like how I like swimming, but don't want to live in the ocean."

"Exactly, Goyle." Harry beamed at the boy next to him.

At that moment dessert disappeared and the prefects started shushing everyone - Dumbledore was getting up to speak again. His speech was fortunately short - Harry was getting very sleepy - but his warning about a horrible death in the third floor corridor served to jolt Harry awake.

"Is he serious?" Harry wondered out loud, looking around at the other students and seeing how they reacted. Some of the Gryffindors laughed, but everyone else looked confused and worried. The teachers were obviously unhappy, but he couldn't tell if it was because Dumbledore had bad taste in jokes or if he was being serious about the death corridor.

The school song was fun if discordant - the Slytherins were the only ones who bothered to try to keep in tune with each other while the students in the other houses literally did what Dumbledore suggested and each picked their own tune. Finally, the Weasley twins finished their funeral march (an unfortunate foreshadowing of Harry's Hogwarts career, really) and the students were sent off to bed.

Following his fifth year prefects who lead them out of the great hall and down to the dungeon level before bothering to stop and introduce themselves - they wanted to be sure they would be heard and that they would not cause a blockage in the hallways.

"My name is Gemma Farley and I am your female fifth year prefect." A blonde girl with brown eyes and a thin face said while standing very straight. Unconsciously, Harry fixed his own posture to emulate the girl.

"And I am Alexander Nott, your male fifth year prefect." He did look like the younger Nott - both were brown-haired and tall for their age. "Don't expect to see much of us this year, we're busy with our OWLs. Instead, you're expected to either solve your own problems or find a sixth year prefect, preferably the former."

"Come on, you'll get the rest of the introduction once we're in the common room."

The entrance to the Slytherin common room was a blank spot on the wall. It was only when Farley ordered them to look up that they noticed that 1) there was a barely discernible pattern on the ceiling, and 2) that pattern was a snake whose head rested just above the entrance. "The password for the next two weeks is Alis volat propriis which is Latin for 'she flies with her own wings'. Memorize it." As she said the password the blank wall became an archway which Farley lead the first years through and Nott the elder brought up the rear.

"Is he your brother?" Harry whisper-asked younger Nott, who shook his head.

"Cousin." Nott answered. "I have a few of those, and a sister who's already graduated."

"Alright, firsties, time for the rules." A young man stepped forward. "My name is Barnaby Lee and I'm one of the seventh year Prefects. That," He pointed to a brunette nearby. "Is my female counterpart, Ismelda Murk. We are both busy with our NEWTs, so don't bother us. Those two," A blond and a redhead. "Are the sixth year prefects, Alice Crowell and Benedict Ogden. They also don't like being bothered so only go to them if it's big and important."

Murk took over for him. "Slytherin house has a few rules. The first and most important is that we show a united front; you have a problem with a housemate, deal with it here. The second rule is do not mess up in potions class and always be prepared for the day's lesson - Professor Snape expects you to serve as an example for the other houses."

"Professor Snape also expects you to stay in good standing with the other professors - do your work on time and neatly, study for tests, pay attention in class, be polite to the Professors, and if you need help, ask for it, either from your roommates or one of the older students. We regularly hold tutoring sessions for the younger years, see the board," Lee pointed to a bulletin board hung to the left of the entrance. "For the schedule. Anything less than an A will mean a detention with Professor Snape, and too many A's will mean a letter home."

"Finally, you will be polite to everyone at all times. You represent both your house and your parents, do conduct yourself appropriately. That means no petty name calling, no shoving in the hallways, and absolutely no dueling in public. Got it? Good. Girls, follow me to your dorms; boys, follow Lee."

Harry and the other first year boys followed Lee down a corridor to that last two doors. "Usually, because there are so many students, they get randomly split between these two rooms. However, there are only seven of you, so you can all fit in the same room. Instead, this room will be used as a study area for all the males of the house - each year will be given a day of the week, with years five and seven getting the weekend because they have OWLs and NEWTs and so need more study time. The other days were assigned by Professor Snape and you lot get Wednesday. The lights will turn off at 10:00, and at 10:05 the floor will sound an alarm if you step on it."

Harry and his new roommates nodded their understanding and entered their room. It was now past eight and they still needed to unpack their trunks.

The room was a large rectangle with the furniture arranged to make eight distinct areas. Seven of those areas were small bedrooms, with canopy beds (size double), a chair and desk set with the desk having a built in suitcase, a dresser, a very thick carpet, and someone's trunk at the foot of the bed. Harry recognized his trunk in front of the second bed on the right. Everything was in shades of green and silver, with each 'bedroom' having its own distinct shade - Harry's was the color of his eyes with silver trims. The 'room' Zabini went to was the most distinct as, unlike the others, it used silver as the main color and green as the accent color. Harry was no color expert, but he noticed that he liked the color combination of his 'room' the most, and seeing the faces of the other boys, he realized each combination was likely picked to suit each of the boys.

The eighth area seemed to have been set up as a living room, with a pair of couches facing each other, another carpet, and a coffee table. On the wall opposite the entrance was a door presumably leading to the bathrooms. Making his way there and opening the door, he walked into a small room with two rows of sinks and mirrors. Again, seven sinks with an eighth area having a communal purpose, in this case shelving. Immediately to each side were openings in the wall, one leading to four toilet stalls while the other lead to four shower stalls. Here, everything was in shades of white and silver.

Harry shrugged and walked back to his trunk. He had brought the required three work robes and the winter cloak, but he also had five white dress shirts, two pairs of black pants and one grey, two ties, two sets of sleep clothes, two casual robes, his football clothing, socks, underwear, undershirts, required protective gloves, regular winter gloves, and several pairs of shoes. The dresser fit everything, with room left over to stash the muggle football he'd brought with him - he still hoped to find another fan. Putting away his textbooks, parchment, extra ink and quills, and the few muggle lined journals he brought just in case took less time.

The only thing left in the trunk was his toiletry kit - soap, toothbrush, etc. - and that he carried to the bathroom and put on the shelving there. Seeing him do so, the other boys did the same. Since there were only four showers, they decided to draw lots to see who get them first - Harry did not win. So, while waiting for his turn, he took off his hat, robe, shoes, socks, tie, and dress shirt, leaving him in an undershirt and trousers. Since he still had time, he went ahead and brushed his teeth.

By the time all the boys had showered and changed into their sleeping clothes, they still had half an hour before lights out. Taking the initiative, Harry went and sat on one of the sofa's and began talking. "My name is Harry Potter, and since we'll be spending the next seven years rooming together, you lot can go ahead and call me Harry."

"Blaise Zabini, feel free to call me by my first name." Blaise followed Harry and sat across from him.

"Gregory Goyle, same."

One by one, the other boys introduced themselves before sitting down; Vincent Crabbe, Draco Malfoy ("You may know of my fath-" "Shut up, Draco!"), Theodore ("Theo!") Nott, and Lancel Rosier.

As with Ron, the ice broke once Quidditch was introduced and before the boys realized it the lights turned off, which set them all scampering (with many a stubbed toe) to their beds before they set off the alarm. Harry, snuggled down in his very comfortable bed, was shaking with relief; he had thought he would be a pariah in among his roommates, but they were so normal, it was almost like he was talking to Neville or a magical Dudley. He still had to be careful about saying certain things (in this case, he avoided mentioning anything muggle) but they proved willing to tolerate him, at least, if not accept him. Now, he only had to worry about the older students.

* * *

 **AN: Sorting 1991**

 **Gryffindor** (6 males, 9 females): Jenna Akbary, Alysse Bishwick, Lavender Brown, Fay Dunbar, Adam Fawley, Seamus Finnigan, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Katelyn Max, Ajax Oakby, Parvati Patil, Sally-Anne Perks, Dean Thomas, Annabeth Wakefield, Ronald Weasley

 **Hufflepuff** (8 males, 7 females): Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Jayne Cresswell, Stephen Cornfoot, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Benjamin Hogg, Wayne Hopkins, Megan Jones, Ernest Macmillan, Lily Moon, Oliver Rivers, Fiona Sayre, Sally Smith, Phoebe Tripe, Jonathan Urquart, Kenneth Warbeck

 **Ravenclaw** (8 males, 8 females): Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst, Mira Burke, Michael Corner, Kevin Entwhistle, Anthony Goldstein, Ambrose Hamilton, Sue Li, Morag MacDougal, Roger Malone, Padma Patil, Rhiannon Pucey, Aria Rowle, Xavier Runcorn, Reese Selwyn, Lisa Turpin

 **Slytheri** n (7 males, 8 females): Mafalda Avery, Emily Boleyn, Millicent Bulstrode, Vincent Crabbe, Tracey Davis, Gregory Goyle, Daphne Greengrass, Claudia Flint, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Harry Potter, Sophie Roper, Lancel Rosier, Blaise Zabini


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I forgot to add that Harry also brought Lily's class notes.

* * *

 _Dear Jackie,_

 _I got into Slytherin! At first, I was afraid they would hate me, but it was fine - most of the older years ignore us because they're too busy with their own stuff, but there are scheduled extra help sessions if we need them. Those will start in a couple of weeks, once everyone has settled in._

 _I have six boys in my dorm - apparently, there should have been way more - and they're alright. We mostly talk about school, classes, and Quidditch. I try to avoid muggle topics, though I've met a couple of muggle-raised students interested in football - I really miss having a physical activity. The castle is really big and we walk a lot to get everywhere, but it's not as fun as running around, especially since I'm carrying my schoolbag with me everywhere. Also, thanks for getting me to put on the extension charm and making it weigh less, that's been a time-saver since I don't have to go back to my dorm for my books, I can just carry everything I need for the day with me._

 _It's only been one day and I haven't had a chance to talk to Neville yet - he's in Gryffindor and I won't see him until Friday for double Potions. Once Flying class starts we'll be together for that, too._

 _Do you know Professor Snape? Draco, my roommate, said Snape hated dad and he hates me, too! But he's my Head of_ house _so I don't know how that'll work out!_

 _I've included a letter for Dudley, can you read it over to make sure it's alright, then send it to him?_

 _Thanks and I miss you,_

 _Harry_

 _PS I've run out of chocolate frogs, please send more. I didn't eat them, the others did - they needed energy for homework_ _._

* * *

Harry and Lancel were both early risers, Harry because he usually had to be ready for morning activities (school or getting picked up by Jackie). Harry grabbed his watch from where he'd left it on his desk (which was right beside the bed and served as a nightstand) to see that it was 6:48. He wasn't actually sure when breakfast would be (or how he'd find the great hall again) so he decided to get up and get ready.

Heading to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth, he noticed that Lancel was already there. They grunted at each other and continued their morning preparations. By the time Harry had changed into his uniform, the other boys had gotten up (Vincent had needed to be shaken awake and Gregory walked around like a zombie) and started to get ready themselves. Harry and Lancel sat on the sofas to wait for them so they could all go up (and get lost) together.

They stepped into the common room and, seeing it empty at the moment, waited a bit hoping an older student would lead them to the great hall. After a few minutes the first year girls came out, also in a group, and they'd just introduced themselves when Ogden, the sixth year male prefect, made an appearance.

"Good, you're up, and you're all here?" He did a quick headcount. "Yes, you're all here. Breakfast on weekdays is served 7 to 8:15 am. Generally, I try to get there by around 7:15 so if you want me to escort you down, be ready to leave at 7:10; today you get a pass, but tomorrow I won't wait around for you lot." With that, he gestured for them to follow as he walked out of the common room into the hallway.

By the time Harry sat down to breakfast, it was just after 7:30 which meant he had 45 minutes to eat. Serving himself some eggs, bacon, and breakfast sausage, Harry took a look around the great hall. He had elected to sit with the wall behind him so he had a good view of all the other occupants. Most of Slytherin House was already there, though he noticed that there were some (like Vincent and Gregory) who still looked mostly asleep. The other house tables were half empty, with Ravenclaw only having a few dozen students present. He also noticed that while Slytherin and Hufflepuff seemed to have all their first years present, only Granger was there from Gryffindor and a handful in Ravenclaw. Maybe they hadn't thought to provide an escort?

The Professors were mostly there, with the four Heads making their way through the house tables handing out papers. Snape eventually reached the first years and handed over a stack of schedules to the one nearest him (Pansy Parkinson). "Pass those along. You all have the same schedule and will have all your classes together, most of which will be shared with another house, the exception being your mandatory seminars, which you have on your own, and your arts electives which combine all four houses. The first term, your mandatory seminars will be Healing and will be overseen by Madame Pomfrey, the head nurse. Notice you have several free periods - utilize them effectively. They are to be used for improving yourself. I expect my students to take part in the extracurriculars offered by Hogwarts as they promote inter-House socialization. You will find a list of them on the bottom, pick one to three. Your choice for the Arts elective is due by Wednesday morning." With a glare at Harry and a stern look at everyone else, he moved on to the fourth years sitting next to their group.

With a grimace at Snape's attitude, Harry looked at his schedule. Classes started at 8:30 and went on for an hour each with 15-minute breaks in between. Lunch was 12-1 and supper started at 6:00 pm.

* * *

Mon: DADA, Transfiguration, Charms, LUNCH, Mandatory seminar, Astronomy at midnight

Tues: FREE, FREE, Herbology, LUNCH, Charms, Transfiguration

Wed: Transfiguration, Herbology, History, LUNCH, FREE afternoon

Thurs: DADA, History, Charms, LUNCH, Magical Theory, Arts elective, Flying

Fri: Potions, Potions, Herbology, LUNCH, DADA

Arts options: Dance, Drama, Visual Art, Music

Extracurriculars: Astronomy Club, Charms Club, Chess Club, Frog Choir, Gobstone Club, Knitting Club, Nature Appreciation Club, Potions Club, Quidditch, Wizard Card Collectors Club.

* * *

Each club had a president to talk to who would organize meetings based on people's schedules and availability, and students were expected to make their interest known by Friday night, so Harry had until then to decide. If he could be sure that Snape wasn't in charge of the Potions club, then he could join in that to help him improve, and charms club sounded like something he might like. Unfortunately, he couldn't join the Quidditch team and the Frog Choir would suit him only if he was required to sound like a frog when singing. Everything else he had no interest in.

As for the arts, he would obviously be taking Music, though again, he needed to make sure he wouldn't need to sing, only play his violin.

The first years had only a short time to look over their schedule before they had to head back to their dorm to prepare for Transfiguration- it being the first day, the first period was used to take care of things like handing out schedules. They followed the older Slytherins to the common room and stuffed everything they would need for the day into their school bags before heading out again - it was just after 9, but it would take them some time to find Class 1. Hogwarts' first floor was a sprawling, disorganized mess of rooms, hallways, courtyards, plus the important areas like the great hall and the infirmary. To make it worse, only half the rooms had numbers on them and only some of those numbers were in order. Class 1 ended up being in the East Wing, just off from a courtyard planted with a variety of magical flowers. The Hufflepuffs were already there, most likely because one of the older students had taken the time to lead them there. Oh well, Harry had fun exploring and they were still a few minutes early.

The Puffs had taken the right side of the room, so Harry and his housemates took the right. They took out their textbooks, quills, ink, and parchment and sat back to chat amongst themselves.

"So, you're Harry Potter. I didn't figure you for a snake, but it just shows that it takes a dark wizard to defeat a dark wizard." A chubby-cheeked blonde Hufflepuff was sending a superior look down his too small nose at Harry while his friends shot worried looks at each other.

"I was a baby so unless you're referring to the darkness coming out of my diapers at the time, I probably had nothing to do with Voldie-" Everyone gasped and got wide-eyed at Harry's nickname for Voldemort, but he ignored them. "-going down. It was more likely my parents who did something." Harry said firmly. Honestly, he did not want to be caught up in either the 'He's a dark wizard!' hysteria or the super-baby schtick that the media tried to stick him with. The sooner people stopped referring to him as the Boy-who-lived the better.

Another blonde boy sniggered before waving cheerfully at Harry. "Hi, I'm Justin. I'm muggleborn so I didn't grow with stories about how great you are, which means they sounded really ridiculous when people finally told me. I'm glad you don't take yourself so seriously."

Harry laughed. "Thanks, Justin, and even though I knew about magic, I was actually raised in the muggle world, so I always thought it was ridiculous, too, though really great for my ego." Justin, as well as a few other Puffs, chuckled along with Harry. "Say, are you a fan of football?"

Justin got a disappointed look on his face. "Yeah, I mean I'm not great, but I liked to play. Too bad they don't have a team here."

"We can make one! I brought my football and cleats, and there is enough open ground for us to use. We just need to find other players!" Harry said enthusiastically, but before the conversation could continue, McGonagall swept into the classroom.

"I apologize, I usually try to arrive before my students, but this morning has been busy. Now, what is transfiguration?" And off McGonagall went, giving an in-depth lecture on why her subject was superior to other magical arts. She was so bothered by almost being late, she didn't realize she hadn't taken attendance until the end of class when she did a quick head count and realized they were all there.

By the end of Transfiguration, Harry's head was so full, he didn't have room for any thoughts of football. Charms, in contrast, started off with cheerful Professor Flitwick taking attendance - Harry loved how he didn't even pause at his name - before asking them to take out their wands. He then went through basics like how to properly grip your wand, exercises that helped them improve their casting (tongue twisters to improve pronunciation and the most commonly used gestures that can be combined to make the wand movements for charm spells), and then taught them the basic light charm.

Lunch was spent practicing the light charm and complaining about the amount of homework they'd already been given. Vincent and Gregory were the only two who hadn't been able to get the Lumos charm to work so Harry and Tracey Davis were working with them. Harry had noticed that Vincent was a lot like Dudley in that he just was not interested in school work so didn't pay it any attention. Gregory did pay attention, he was just slow - not stupid or unintelligent, just slow and methodical in his learning; he needed time to process new information and add it to his already existing knowledge. It took him longer, but he got it… eventually. It didn't help that it took him until almost noon to wake up much to his professors' frustration. According to McGonagall, it was a family trait and she had complained about his father and uncles in the same breath as she had complained about him.

Harry and the others were exiting the great hall when Harry's name was called.

"HARRY! Hey, Harry," Justin ran to him with an excited look, followed by a black Gryffindor first year. "This is Dean Thomas, and he's also a big fan of football. Think he can join in?"

Harry grinned and nodded. "Sure, the more the merrier! Listen, gather as many other people who are interested as possible and we'll meet at lunch tomorrow - if there are enough of us, we can start a football club!"

"Excellent! I think I can get Seamus to come too, his dad is muggle so he knows how to play." Dean said enthusiastically. The two boys headed back to their house tables while Harry and followed his housemates to a classroom near the hospital wing - it was where the mandatory seminar on Healing was being held.

Madame Pomfrey was already there and she had set up fifteen chairs in a semi-circle in front of a blackboard. She nodded at them and gestured to chairs. "Sit down please, you can place your bags on the floor. I am Madame Pomfrey and I will spend this semester going over some basic first aid with you. You will learn how to heal minot bruises and cuts, how to bandage bigger cuts and burns, what to do in case of broken bones or head injuries, and also what to do when someone is choking. The first lesson is that even after finishing this course, you will still be amateurs incapable of dealing with most injuries and would cause more harm than good trying to heal them. Instead, today you will learn about the basic diagnostic charm and practice it on each other." She handed out a thin textbook titled 'Healing for Beginners' and asked them to follow along as she read from it, stopping every once in a while to give more information or examples that made the theory more understandable.

It wasn't a boring seminar since the diagnostic charm itself was very interesting to use - it gave the castor a visual map of the body that only they could see. Supposedly, if anyone had any current injuries they would be bright red while old injuries that had not healed well would show as a muted pink. Harry, who'd broken bones before but had undergone magical healing, was as healthy as the rest of his housemates. At the end of the lecture, Pomfrey collected the books back and very sternly told them they were not to try the charm on anyone else without first asking for their permission as it was an invasion of privacy.

After the seminar they headed back to the common room - they had a free while most of the other Slytherins would still be in class, meaning they had room to do their homework in the common room. Their Transfiguration homework was to read a chapter and be prepared to answer questions in class. Harry decided to bring out the notes his mum had made of her first-year Transfiguration class as well as the Charms ones. The notes, while neat, were very sparse as she seemed to have prepared them while studying for her OWLs. Nevertheless Harry, after reading the first page of notes, realized that the chapter he was reading was setting up background theory for the transformation formula. Theo, who'd been reading over his shoulder, chuckled.

"This is great! Where did you get these notes? The fifth years would love them!" Theo, after glancing at Harry for permission, skimmed through the rest of the notebook. Lily had used a different muggle exercise book for each subject she had needed to study for separated by year, though first and second year were usually combined as they had needed less room; there was another set for her NEWT notes.

Harry shot him a smirk and said, "My mum, of course. Dad was too busy pulling pranks to organize his notes like this." He then pointed to his textbook, which was full of notes written in the margins. "He did like to annotate his textbooks, though, and he got higher marks in Transfiguration."

Theo had frozen as soon as Harry mentioned his mother - everyone knew Lily Potter was a muggleborn - but after thinking about it for a few seconds, he shrugged and continued skimming; Potter was dead and her dirty muggle stain went with her so it didn't matter if Theo took advantage of her well-organized notes - as a matter of fact, it would be a very Slytherin thing for him to do. "Mind if I show this to Alexander -my cousin? He's studying for OWLs and would owe you big if you let him copy this; he doesn't have a lot of his notes from earlier years."

"Uhm… Let me think about it?" Harry asked with an uncomfortable look on his face. "It's just that, these are my mum's and I don't want people who disrespect her use them only to go back to hating her afterward."

Blaise, who'd joined Theo in looking over the notes, looked up at Harry. "In order to use them, they have to admit that a muggleborn had good enough notes for them to borrow. Even if they hate her, they would have to respect her mind, at least."

"Yeah, maybe... Let me think about it."

The boys went back to their homework. Harry used one of the muggle journals he'd brought with him to take notes of the chapter, both the official words and his father's notes, before comparing what he had to his mother's to see if he had included all the main points, which he had. His year mates, the rest of whom had been listening to his and Theo's conversation, did the same on parchment paper with plans to ask their parents to send bound journals for them to use also. They all used Lily and James' notes, even Vincent, which meant it took them a little longer than usual to finish the homework, but they were able to get a better grasp of the material.

The Charms homework was also reading, though with added expectation that they would all prefect their Lumos charm by the next class. Luckily they had already done the last part and were able to use Potter notes (as the combination of James and Lily's notes came to be called) to improve their own studying.

By the time they finished, classes had ended for the day (except for their on Astronomy class that would take place at night) and the older students were flowing back into the common room. The first years put their finished work back in their dorms and came back out so that they could all spend time together - males were not able to go into the females' corridor and previous generations of Slytherins had set traps for any girls trying to enter the male corridor.

The group divided into group and games of chess, gobstones, and exploding snap were started. Harry and Millicent both moved to the side and got out their Chocolate Frog cards to see if there were any trades to be had. Harry had purposely not looked for his parents' collection of the cards because he wanted to build his own set - the fun was in the search for the cards, not in the having of them. Soon, they were joined by a few second years who also liked collecting. It was the first time Harry had interacted with older students on an individual level, and while they were somewhat hesitant, they did talk to him and shook his hand. Harry, after they'd finished trading and were packing their cards up, sat up straight and slapped his forehead. "Letters! I forgot to send a letter to my aunt!"

Harry's exclamations served as a reminder to the other first years and they all ran back to their desks to write letters to their various guardians. This mass exodus cause the older years to snicker at their panic, all forgetting their own panic back in their first year.

Harry wrote a letter to Jackie and another one to Dudley - Vernon and Petunia would not be interested to hear from him. The one to Dudley continued on the theme he had previously started - a boarding school run by nuns and nothing fun to do except play football when he had free time.

After finishing his letter, Harry brought out his violin, which had its own special spot in his dresser. The other boys seemed to have already finished their letters and were just lazing around so Harry figured they wouldn't mind his playing. However, when they saw him bring out his instrument, some of them got out their own - Blaise had a guitar like instrument (gandolin), Theo had a hand-held harp of all things, and Lancel played the flute. They didn't know a lot of the same songs, especially as their instruments were so different, so instead, they took turns and sometimes played in pairs. The others played cards until dinner, though sometimes they would yell out requests for specific tunes.

After dinner, which lasted until 7, the first year Slytherins (and Ravenclaws) were advised by Crowell (fifth year prefect) to go straight to sleep to prepare for their astronomy class.

"What about the alarm on the floor?" Draco wondered.

"What alarm?" The girls more or less all asked at once with confused looks on their faces.

Crowell laughed. "The alarm is usually turned off, it's only on if a group proves that they're not mature enough to be trusted. We tell that to all the first years just to make sure they actually get enough sleep for the next day. I don't know why the girls didn't get that speech, Murk must have forgotten." She continued laughing as she walked away.

"It was a trick! On ME!" Malfoy looked shocked at the idea that someone would dare trick him.

The girls were giggling and would try to emulate the looks on the boys' faces only to start giggling again.

"It's not funny, I really had to use the bathroom last night!" Lancel complained, which explained why he had been up so early. This only set everyone giggling, and even Lancel started grinning after a while.

"Come on, sleep, then the stars!" Theo dramatically threw his arms up and faced the enchanted ceiling as he said the last two words.

Harry grinned and followed behind as Theo lead the way back to the dorms.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Due to having more classes than canon, Slytherins will also share Herbology with Gryffs, meaning Harry will actually be seeing Neville earlier - I have to edit the letter he sends Jackie.

 **Harry's Class Schedule**

Breakfast is 7-8:15. There are three periods in the morning that go 8:30-9:30, 9:45-10:45, and 11:00-12:00. 12-1 is lunch, then it's 1:00-2:00, 2:15-3:15, and 3:30-4:30. There are 15-minute breaks between periods. Double periods end up being 2 hours and 15 minutes because students don't get their 15-minute break in between.

Mon: DADA, Transfiguration, Charms, LUNCH, Mandatory seminar, Astronomy at midnight

Tues: FREE, FREE, Herbology, LUNCH, Charms, Transfiguration

Wed: Transfiguration, Herbology, History, LUNCH, FREE afternoon

Thurs: DADA, History, Charms, LUNCH, Magical Theory, Arts elective, Flying

Fri: Potions, Potions, Herbology, LUNCH, DADA

Charms, Magical Theory and DADA with Ravenclaw

Transfiguration, Astronomy, and History with Hufflepuff

Potions, Herbology, and Flying with Gryffindor

* * *

Astronomy was not fun; not only was Harry's body trained to be asleep in this hour, but the subject had never been a passion of his. The only way Jackie had been able to get him to study Astronomy was by teaching him the stories that went along with the constellation names.

The study of the heavens was very important not only for astrology and tracking omens, it was also a way to track magic. At different parts of the year different types of magic become easier to perform, rituals always need to take astronomical conditions into account, and certain events, like an asteroid coming near or the alignment of celestial bodies, will impact the levels of magic experienced by everyone. Some plants could only be picked at certain points in the lunar or solar cycle while some potions could only be brewed under similar restrictions. Some magical creatures use the heavens to determine aspects of their life cycles such as reproduction; phoenixes, for example, use the energy from a dying star that is within a certain distance to earth to fuel their immortality, and when the star finally blows apart as a supernova, the Phoenix will die a final death. Depending on the star's closeness, it could potentially fuel more than one phoenix.

It still did not make it an interesting subject for Harry. Still, he paid attention, took good notes, used his telescope, and then happily went back to his bed for a few more hours of sleep. When he woke up it was just coming on eight and it looked like he, along with the other boys who were all still in bed, were going to miss breakfast. Harry, deciding this was a good opportunity to earn himself some goodwill, quickly put on his robe and shoes and grabbed his glasses and wand.

He ran all the way to the great hall and to the Slytherin table, which earned him a lot of teasing from those who saw him. Grinning ruefully at everyone, he shrugged and called out "Astronomy," as an explanation before grabbing a tray half-filled with muffins and adding a few other breakfast pastries to it - banana bread, croissants - before thinking it over and making up another tray for the girls. He really hoped that if he took the two trays out of the great hall they would not disappear. He carefully carried the two trays (which was harder than he thought it would be) down the stairs to the dungeons and then the Slytherin dorms. Thankfully the trays were shaped like oblong bowls and he had been to keep them from spilling by using his hips to steady them. It was also lucky that the Slytherin entrance did not require a free hand to open.

Looking around, he saw a group of fourth year girls about to head into the female corridor and hailed them. "Hi, good morning, um… Do you mind taking this tray to the first year girls? We had astronomy last night and a free this morning, so they may not have gotten up in time for breakfast." Harry smiled hopefully and was forced to stand still as they pinched his cheeks and 'awwed' over him.

"Sure thing, sweetie. You're so thoughtful!"

"Wish our year mates were as thoughtful, I'd like breakfast delivered!"

"And he's so cute! Look at him blushing *squeal*."

Harry really regretted this now, but without the option to back out, he mumbled "Thank you" as soon as one of them took a tray and ran to the safety of his dorm - girls were Magic's way of punishing him for being a boy, he just knew it.

In his dorm, Lancel and Draco were just getting up but everyone else was still asleep. Seeing the tray, the boys were happy to get out of bed and join Harry around the coffee table. Unfortunately, Harry hadn't been able to bring drinks, but that was solved by most of the boys still having preserved juices in the meal boxes their guardians had packed them for the train. As a result, the boys (once the others were woken up) enjoyed an eclectic assortment of pumpkin juice, apple juice, lemonade, and banana flavored milk (Theo was a fan).

"We should do this every Tuesday." Draco carefully brushed crumbs off his silk pajamas.

"Only if we all take turns, I'm not doing this every week!"

"But you did so well, Harry. Think of it, you'd be training for your future career as a footman!" Blaise ducked Harry's punch as the other boys laughed. "Hey, you're the one who keeps talking about footing a ball!'

"Football has nothing to do with being a footman, you jerk!"

"We could draw up a schedule, there are seven of us and sixteen weeks of school until winter break." Draco said thoughtfully.

"Don't forget the girls, I sent their tray with some older girls." Harry said.

"Alright then, fifteen of us and sixteen weeks of school this term, and another sixteen next term. If this works, we can continue the schedule for next year, too." Draco nodded importantly. "We'll let the girls know."

Vincent, who'd been eating quietly until then, grunted a negative. Looking at him, then at Gregory, whose eyes have yet to actually open, Harry realized the two would not be able to wake up without outside interference.

"Arghhh, we'll talk to the girls and figure something out for next week, but if you two want to get out of breakfast duty, you have to do something else for us." Blaise said, and the others nodded along then went back to eating.

It was still a quarter to nine and they didn't have class until eleven. Deciding they had enough time to explore their way to the owlery (they still had letters to send), the boys washed up and changed before heading out. Vincent and Gregory gathered up the tray and cups though they had no idea what to do with them. In the common room, they met up with the girls who were carrying their own dirty dishes.

"Good morning, and thanks to whoever sent us breakfast," Daphne said while the other girls mirrored her sentiment.

"You can thank Harry this time but we're thinking of making this a weekly habit and take it in turns." Draco stepped forward and took charge. "Vincent and Gregory are not morning people though, so we have to come up for a way for them to pay us back."

"How about they deal with the dishes?" Tracy said as she handed hers over to the two boys and was soon copied by the other girls.

Vincent and Gregory looked at each other and nodded. "Alright, but what do we do with them?"

Looking around, Blaise saw one of his step-cousins and moved towards them "Wait here, I'll ask." After a brief exchange, he came back. (They said to leave the dishes on the great hall tables - the house-elves will take them away." He turned to the girls. "We're going to try to find the owlery and send our letters, would you like to join us?"

"Of course! Any idea where the owlery is?" Daphne asked.

"Top of the West Tower," Pansy said immediately, the explained when she saw the surprised looks thrown her way. "My brother told me where to find places like the owlery and the library - they don't shift around as often. Some other rooms, though, shift around every few months - it's why classrooms change every year."

"Why-" Harry began only to be interrupted.

"For security and because there's too much magic that builds up," Millicent answered. "If Hogwarts is every attacked, the shifting around will help hide the students. As for the magic, Hogwarts is not only on a ley line but it also started to be used to store excess wild magic when the Statute of Secrecy went into effect. Without it, muggles would still be getting lost in fairy rings or getting trapped by Stonehenge."

"I didn't know that," Harry said quietly; he had thought that he had read enough books and explored the Magical World well enough that basic information like Hogwarts being the giant, magical version of a battery would not have escaped him.

Theo shook his head and clapped Harry on his shoulder. "Most don't - the really old families know because they helped set up the system, and then we did our best to hide the information because it makes Hogwarts a target. Think about how many would want control of such a large storehouse of magic?"

"It's why Dumbledore is Headmaster even though many pureblood families don't like him," Lancel said. "There has to be a powerful wizard or witch in Hogwarts at all times to make sure the excess magic doesn't escape or get out of control, and who can scare the wannabes off. Why else would the most powerful of each generation become teachers instead of traveling the world and seeking fame? They're needed here."

"That power is what makes Hogwarts one of the safest places in the world. There's a lot of treasure hidden here to keep it safe from other people, things that are too dangerous to be used." Theo added with a knowing look. The Notts were known for creating dangerous artifacts and it was rumored that an ancestress of his was involved in the creation of the Goblet of Fire. Even now, both his parents were Unspeakables who were likely carrying on the family tradition.

Suddenly, Draco clapped his hands. "Enough with the doom and gloom! Let's get going!" And with that, the fifteen first years went in search of owls, stopping by the great hall to drop off dirty dishes first.

Hedwig was very happy to see Harry, and after a few scratches and an owl treat, she took off with his mail. Hogwarts parents were asked to wait a day or two before sending their own mail so that the students had time to settle and get used to being away from home. This was good as Harry and the gang had missed breakfast and so would not have been there for the morning mail.

It had taken them a while to find the owlery, long enough that they had to hurry to go back down to their dorms to fetch what they needed for Herbology and make it in time for class. Harry was excited as this would be his first opportunity to speak to Neville since their sorting.

"Harry!"

"Neville! And Ron!" Harry hurried over to where the two were waiting by the greenhouses. "Excited for Herbology, I bet, eh?" Harry teased Neville, who rolled his eyes.

"Yes, of course." Neville gave Harry a concerned look. "How have you been?" Neville had heard a lot of negative things about Slytherins, and quite a few Gryffindors were grumpy that Harry had been stolen from them by the snakes.

"I've been great! We just went exploring this morning to look for the owlery. What about you two?"

"We're fine, too," Neville said.

Ron, who'd been silent until then, spoke. "Why didn't you tell me you were Harry Potter?" He looked hurt and angry about being left in the dark.

"I'm sorry, Ron, but I don't like being treated different. I wanted to be just Harry for as long as possible, can you understand that?" Harry was afraid that Ron wouldn't understand and that he would lose the potential for friendship between them.

"I guess," Ron nodded uncertainly. "Why didn't you get into Gryffindor, though? You're Harry Potter!"

"The Hat said that I was too independent for Gryffindor."

"WHAT!?" All the Gryffindors present squawked at the implication that they were not independent while the Slytherins snickered - obviously, all the other first years had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Good morning, students." Professor Sprout had arrived. "We'll be using Green House 1 today, so go on in, it's unlocked."

After taking roll call Sprout them set them to practicing basic gardening techniques on non-magical plants. Some, like Neville and Harry, already had experience with gardening (Neville more than anyone) and so were allowed to move around and help the others. They were, of course, given house points for doing so.

Harry took the opportunity to speak with Dean again and meet his friend, Seamus.

"I've played football before; not as interesting as Quidditch," Seamus said and Harry nodded along - football was not played on a broom and only had one ball that wasn't actively trying to bash your head in, of course it wasn't as interesting as Quidditch. "But fun to play."

"There are a few other Gryffs, older years, who were also interested. I think we'll have enough people for two teams." Dean said enthusiastically as he pruned his box bush.

"Great!" Harry was happy to hear more people were interested.

After Herbology they washed up a bit in the nearby restrooms before heading to lunch. Harry, Seamus, and Dean said goodbye to the others at the doors and then moved to where Justin was standing with about a dozen others.

"You found more people!" Harry exclaimed after greeting Justin.

"Yeah, I spread the word in my house and to the Ravens. We'll have to do co-ed teams, but I don't think anyone minds."

"Why would we?" Seamus was confused; even though his dad was a muggle, he had very little experience with the marginalization of women in muggle culture.

"We don't, that's the important bit," Dean said before whispering to Seamus that he'd tell him later.

As they were talking, other students joined them until there were close to thirty students of various ages gathered around.

"Alright everyone, let's get started; I do want to have time for lunch!" Harry said and the others quieted down "I want to play football, and as I think it is not only fun but also has a lot of benefits, I want there to be an official football club or league at Hogwarts. I think there are enough of us to make two to four teams, and if there was an official club, more people may become interested and join up." Looking at Dean for confirmation, Harry hesitantly continued. "We should nominate a couple of people to speak to the staff, maybe older students who will be more likely to be taken seriously." Dean nodded his agreement.

After a few minutes of debate, a Ravenclaw sixth year was picked as the president - his dad was a professional football coach and he knew the rules well enough to act as a referee. Beatrice Haywood, the current Head Girl, was also present and so was nominated to accompany him when he went to speak to the staff. Someone produced a piece of parchment and they all wrote their names, houses, and years down to give the professors an idea of how many were interested in this new club.

Harry made his way to the Slytherin table when there was still a half an hour left of lunch, just enough time for him to grab a sandwich before heading to Charms. He noticed that most of his house-mates were giving him side-eyed looks while Draco was outright glaring at him suspiciously.

"So. A muggle sport is it? Is Quidditch not good enough for you?" Draco accused, emphasizing with slashes of his fork.

"Are we allowed to play Quidditch? Are we allowed to fly?" Harry asked pointedly, which threw Draco off.

"Well, no, but still! A muggle game!" Draco made it sound as if Harry had taken to kissing hags.

"So? I'm only running around and kicking a ball. Honestly, I think in a few years, we'll start charming the ball to make the game more exciting, maybe use an oversized gobstone instead. I'm bored, I need to run around and shout and get mud on my clothes. Muggles may have some bad ideas, but they've had good ones, too, and football is a good idea." Harry said firmly and went back to stuffing his face.

"I like running and shouting," Vincent said thoughtfully only to have Draco and Pansy shoot betrayed looks at him. He only rolled his eyes. "Come on, you two, it's not like muggles are going to be there. If it's not a fun game then people won't want to play it and we'll all go back to fighting over the Quidditch pitch." This caused them all to wince; Hogwarts only had one Quidditch pitch which was usually hogged by one of the four teams for practice. There weren't that many organized team sports in the Wizarding World so their choices were very limited. Broom racing wasn't as much fun without obstacles (and impossible with only the old school brooms) and you could only play so many rounds of tag before it becomes repetitive or the older years start complaining about little kids.

"Alright, if eventually magic is going to enter it in some way, I guess we'll wait and see." Blaise decided for all of them. "Just don't expect us to care about muggle sporting events or the like."

"Of course not, I don't even track those. I've always preferred Quidditch." Harry said firmly to approving nods.

Honestly, for all his independence, Harry also did not want to shove his preferences and opinions on other people. So long as he could do what he wanted and not be bothered, they could think and do what they wanted. Even if they had continued to be stubborn, Harry was not giving up the chance to play football.

The rest of the week went by with little fanfare. After asking around and realizing that Music class allowed for specializing in violin, Harry chose that as his Arts elective and was joined by Blaise, Lancel, Theo, Emily and Sophie. Draco and Pansy were the only Slytherin first years to choose Drama and the rest were split evenly between Dance and Visual Arts.

Hogwarts Football League was officially announced as a club Wednesday evening which saw several more members sign up. They were given a large courtyard (that no one had seen before) which was about half the size of a regular football field as their official playing field. None of those who signed up were currently on Quidditch teams and so the first club meeting was set for that Saturday morning.

Friday morning arrived and Harry was especially nervous. He continued reviewing the Potions' notes he'd already made even as he ate breakfast, but that didn't help any. Trying to calm himself down, Harry looked at Draco. "Hey, Draco, did you get the chance to talk to Professor Snape?"

Draco swallowed what he had in his mouth and nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

* * *

" _Come in," Snape called out when he heard knocking at his office door._

 _Draco Malfoy walked in and shut the door. "Good evening Professor, I have something important to discuss with you." The boy puffed up his chest as he stood in front of Snape's desk._

 _Snape slowly lifted an eyebrow. "I'm sure."_

 _Draco, missing the sarcasm, nodded firmly. "Yes. Why do you hate Harry Potter?"_

 _"Get. Out." Cold,_ cooold _tone of voice._

 _*Squeak* and the door slammed shut behind the fleeing first-year._

* * *

"It went well. You should be fine!" Draco tried to sound chipper and gave Harry a sickly grin.

Harry stared at him for a moment. "Good thing you signed up for Drama, you really need those acting lessons."


	9. Chapter 9

Due to Harry being friends with Neville and friendly with Ron, Dean and Seamus, the Slytherins ended up walking to Potions more or less together, the Slytherins leading, Harry and Neville walking in the middle, and the other Gryffindors bringing up the rear. Harry was very specific on where friendly acquaintance ended and friendship began and so far, the only magical child he considered to be his friend was Neville. His roommates had great potential, but they were still only roommates, and Ron was still cool towards Harry due to the perceived deception.

The first years failed to notice the astonishment of everyone else when they saw Gryffs and Snakes walking calmly in a group - usually those two houses avoided each other and were often responsible for most of the hallway duels. The second and third years of said Houses were the most put out and resolved to teach the firsties better, but the older years had a more mixed reaction. The older Gryffs recognized the prejudice in hating someone because of the color of their robes, while the older Snakes recognized the need to get along with the rest of the school for the sake of their life after Hogwarts - having a reputation as the meanest house did little to help them achieve their ambitions. Later that day, the second and third years would be 'encouraged' to keep their opinions to themselves.

The first-years were blissfully ignorant of all this and Harry was whining to Neville about Snape's potential dislike of him. "It's not fair, I like potions! Why does he have to ruin it for me?"

"Harry, I'm sure he'll be professional and you're a Slytherin, he'll probably go easy on you. You know, we were warned that he was biased towards his own House."

"You think?" Harry said hopefully.

"That's not a good thing! Teachers should be unbiased!" Granger inserted herself between the boys and continued lecturing. "I'm sure that he'll only care about whether or not you've adequately prepared for his class." Somehow, she seemed to imply that neither of them had.

"Alright there, Ms. Superiority Complex, give other people the room to express their opinions in private conversations!" Harry snarked at her - she really needed to learn some social skills.

"Excuse me!?"

Neville sighed and tried to soothe things over - he didn't want to have problems with a housemate. "He only meant that people have the right to complain to their friends even if you think their complaints are unfounded."

This, however, did not soothe Hermione. "So I'm not allowed talk sense into him?"

"Not when I wasn't complaining to you; you overheard our conversation and decided to butt in!" Harry snapped.

"Fine then!" The girl sniffed and walked faster, quickly overtaking the rest of the Slytherins.

"Is she always like that?" Harry wondered.

"YES!" All the Gryffindors answered immediately in an annoyed chorus.

When Snape opened the door to the Potions classroom and ordered them in, he gave his Snakes stern looks, except for Harry who he glared at, and sneered at the Gryffs. They all scuttled in and Harry and Neville were the only first-years to sit with someone not of the same House. This worked out mostly well since both houses had an uneven number of students (fifteen each), though Ron ended up sharing a desk with Granger much to his horror.

"Wands away," Snape drawled as he glided to the front of the room. "There will be no foolish wand waving in this classroom." And thus began his speech on the wonders of the noble art of Potion making. By the end of it he had most of them on the edge of their seats, half entranced half terrified. Stalking to his podium, Snape began to take attendance. Each student was scrutinized by the Professor as they answered, though again, Harry received special attention as his name was hissed out and Snape looked as if he would have loved to dissect Harry and then burn the pieces to ashes. Harry endeavored to look as polite as possible but this didn't seem to help.

"We will begin by reviewing the safety procedures you WILL follow in this class." Looking around, Snape began snapping out names and questions. "Potter, why are crystal phials preferable to glass?"

"Because-because they're more durable and won't break as often." Harry answered before quickly adding, "Sir."

"Thomas, why is it important to thoroughly clean all equipment before and after use?"

"Umm, to prevent contamination, sir?"

"I expect an answer, not a question. Minus two points. Boleyn…" And so it continued with Snape going through the whole class. Some answered well, some did not, though Harry noticed that the Gryffs got the more obscure questions that were not directly addressed in the textbooks and Snape was more critical of their answers. Poor Granger had lost points due to her answer being too thorough, which Harry thought was a bit unfair even if it did seem like she was trying to show off. Obviously, her housemates thought it was unfair too as they kept shooting her sympathetic looks and glaring at Snape's back.

Eventually the quizzing came to an end with Snape tutting after Ron couldn't answer a question. "It is truly disheartening to see how the quality of new students decreases with every year." That was an obvious dig at how Ron's brothers had done exceptionally well at Hogwarts. Snape flicked his wand at the blackboard to make notes appear. "We will begin studying the basic steps for brewing as well as the most commonly used equipment and ingredients you will come across, and this will continue for the rest of the year. The last half hour of class will be used to go over the Cure for Boils which you will brew in class next week. This will be your schedule for the rest of the year - a lecture period followed by a brewing period. I will not accept late arrivals to brewing periods, no excuses."

* * *

Harry was happy to escape to Herbology once the double period ended, and he wasn't the only one.

"That was a nightmare! Who let that bat teach?" Ron exclaimed (once he was outside and well out of Snape's hearing range).

"Lay off! Potions is a dangerous subject!" Tracy snapped at Ron.

"Exactly, and who wouldn't know why you should only store potions in a cool, dry place?" Claudia sniffed to show her disgust. The Slytherins had been warned ahead of time to prepare, as had any student with older siblings or cousins. Ron, who had been warned, had assumed his brothers were trying to trick him again.

Just as Ron's face was getting red enough to blow, Sprout shepherded them into Greenhouse 1 and began her lesson. Harry ended up partnering with Neville, Sophie, and Millicent for the class and the two girls, who weren't that fond of gardening, were happy to listen to Neville's wisdom on the subject. Harry took the opportunity to think while going through the motions of basic plant care.

Hogwarts was going very well so far and even after being sorted into Slytherin Harry had still managed to establish peace with his yearmates. Some of the Gryffs had initially given him the cold shoulder, but being Gryffindors, they'd quickly gotten over it, especially once they realized that he wasn't fitting the Slytherin stereotype. His Slytherin housemates had followed his lead and, while they (Draco especially) remained aloof, they hadn't deliberately insulted anyone unless it was in retaliation - Ron had insulted Malfoy Sr. and had gotten into a full on row with Draco that lost them ten points each, but the rest of the first years had stayed out of it and pretended it never happened. The two boys have since gotten into the habit of ignoring and avoiding each other as much as possible. The Snakes also did their best to pretend Dean and Granger, both muggleborns, did not exist - Dean found it funny (he had several siblings and was used to the silent treatment from immature brats) but Granger took it as the insult it was. Other than that, there were no issues between the first year Gryffs and Snakes.

Harry had also successfully began the process of making friends in the other two houses - Justin was a very friendly boy who had given him a good introduction to the others in his house. Zacharias Smith was apparently alright once you got past the self-righteous exterior, but Harry was very happy to be able to limit his exposure. Harry had been introduced to some Ravenclaws but he hadn't yet gotten to know any of them better. Hopefully, that will change soon - it was only his first week, after all.

Speaking of first weeks, it had been a very light one for Harry - none of his Thursday afternoon courses had started yet. Flying and Music were still being organized (he'd indicated his preferred instrument along with his choice for Arts Elective) while the professor for Theory of Magic was busy testing the new sixth years to determine who would be welcome in her advanced seminars. Theory was taught as an introductory course in first year; third and fourth years received optional seminars on the topic, and then those who showed a strong interest were tested to see if they qualify for the sixth and seventh-year seminar series. There was no OWL or NEWT in Theory of Magic as the Ministry liked to pretend that Hogwarts did not teach it. Harry didn't know it but the sixth and seventh-year seminars were a requirement for working in the Department of Mysteries.

He'd received his first letter from Jackie the day before - she'd congratulated him on his sorting, reminded him to study smart but not neglect his social needs, and said she had already posted Dudley's letter. She had also sent him a package of chocolate frogs and a reminder that his football and cleats will likely deteriorate in a few months. She can buy and send him new ones when he needed them, though. She had also asked him about his muggle allowance - did he still want it or should she invest it? Harry was still not sure about that one.

Herbology eventually came to an end, and after washing up, they all made their way to the great hall for lunch. DADA was his last class of the day, and even though he had heard some disappointing things from Neville, he hoped that the teacher had only been nervous and would get better with time. The Defence course covered many of the same topics of the other classes - magical creatures, defensive spellwork, dangerous plants - but only in terms of how to defend against them, obviously. Dueling was usually offered as an optional seminar at NEWT level and most students did their own research to learn the more powerful offensive spells, sometimes helped by their families.

Harry had only started to serve himself when he noticed how agitated the older years were. They seemed to be focused on an article in the Daily Prophet and were arguing with each other, going as far as to move between house tables to hold discussions with people from other houses. The Weasley's seemed particularly popular. "What's going on?" Harry asked a sixth year sitting nearby.

"Gringott's was broken into!" He exclaimed before shoving a newspaper at Harry and turning back to his previous conversation.

"That can't be true!" Blaise said in disbelief but he joined the other first-year Snakes in listening to Harry as he read the article out loud. A vault was broken into, but it had been emptied (the goblins refused to say by who or of what) a few hours before so nothing was actually stolen.

"Ooh, the goblins must be very angry about this. They'll be out for blood!" Lancel worried. "My grandfather used to be a cursebreaker, he told me what the goblins do to thieves."

"Why is everyone gathering around the Weasley's?" Harry asked as Percy Weasley finally had enough and dragged Ron out of the great hall, the twins quickly following.

Theo looked over before giving an unconcerned shrug. "Their oldest brother works for Gringotts, everyone probably thinks they have more information."

"How do you know what their brother does?" Draco's accusing tone said a lot of his opinion regarding Theo's knowledge.

"They're distant cousins, of course. Draco, they're purebloods, which means most likely, you're related to them, too." Theo smirked at the disgusted look on Draco's face.

Harry, who had little patience for family vendetta's, ignored what had just been said and went back to the earlier discussion. "What could the goblins do?"

Daphne looked very worried as she explained. "Well, for one, they could tighten security, make it harder for us to access our accounts."

Harry immediately winced at this - he had no issues with goblins, but they were not exactly welcoming to wizards.

"For another, they will definitely make a big fuss and expect the auror department to put all their resources to catching the thief, and our parents will probably back up the goblins - we want our gold kept safe, after all." Claudia pointed out.

"Either way, we should get back to eating. It's not our problem to solve." Gregory pointed out to reluctant agreement from the others and they all went back to serving themselves.

* * *

DADA, unfortunately, was all that Neville had warned of. The classroom smelled strongly of garlic, the professor had a constant fear induced stutter, and he seemed terrified to even mention any dark creature, let alone think of facing one. Harry took notes as best he could and followed along in the textbook (which was new and so didn't have any helpful notes) but promised himself to find a solution to this travesty.

The rest of Friday afternoon was spent doing homework with his Slytherin yearmates. They had done well in keeping up with homework assignments throughout the week and had used their many free periods to finish most of it, but they had some DADA work and their Potions assignment (six inches on the Cure for Boils) not to mention the new reading assignment from that morning's Herbology period. The Potter notes proved themselves again and Theo again recommended that Harry share them with the fifth years.

That night Harry thought about the decisions he needed to make soon. Invest his allowance, or spend it all at once every summer? Allow the Potter notes to be copied or continue holding them over his yearmates' heads? And how to get close to the Ravenclaws in his year - none of them had signed up for the Football club. Charms club was said to be very hectic, so he was unlikely to have the opportunity to have long conversations with anyone during club meetings. DADA was too big an issue for him to handle so he put it off to the side.

Invest or spend… share or hoard… socialize with bookworms…

He, of course, knew what the mature, kind choices would be - invest for future earnings, share, and wait for an organic socializing opportunity to develop.

Invest… share notes… wait and see…

Invest… notes… wait… WAIT!

Harry started laughing to himself - invest, Potter Notes, and wait!

"Which one of you crazies is laughing in the middle of the night!?" Blaise's complaint was met with snores, grunts, and Harry's now muffled laughter.

* * *

Early on Saturday morning Harry jumped out of bed and went to his desk to write a letter to Jackie, a very important letter.

 _Dear Jackie,_

 _I've had a brilliant idea! My yearmates love mum's notes and dad's textbook scribbles, and they keep hinting for me to share them with the fifth years to help them study, and I've come up with the perfect way to do it - publish them!_

 _Crazy, I know, but hear me out. The tenth anniversary of mum and dad's death is coming up and I want them to be remembered for the brilliant witch and wizard they were. So, I want to publish the Potter Notes, a Hogwarts study guide written by James and Lily Potter! Every OWL and NEWT student will want one (because the notes are really brilliant) and people will focus on mum and dad and not me! This will celebrate them and what they could have been if they hadn't been MURDERED by that MANIAC ten years ago._

 _I want it ready for purchase on Halloween, is that possible?_

 _I'm well, school's great, etc. etc._

 _Harry_

Harry quickly stuffed the note into an envelope and then got ready for breakfast. It being a weekend, school robes were not mandatory so Harry put on one of the casual robes he'd brought with him over his football outfit - he had the first club meeting that afternoon.

Harry's dorm mates didn't see Harry until they'd made it to breakfast where Harry was cheerfully eating his scrambled eggs.

"Why were you up so early? And so cheerful?" Lancel groaned.

"I sent a letter," Harry said as if this was a groundbreaking achievement.

The others stared blankly at him. "Alright… And what cookiness have the rest of you been up to?" Blaise asked everyone but Harry.

Harry just grinned and went back to contemplating his own genius. Finally October 31st will represent a triumph for the Potter Family and not just a tragedy. Dozens of purebloods will use Lily Evan Potter's study guide thus making her relevant and famous for more than just her death.

Harry spent the rest of the morning with a group of first-year boys (Neville, Ron, Dean, Seamus, Theo, Blaise, Justin, Ernest, and Stephen) running around Hogwarts exploring - with the Puff's help they'd found the kitchens where the house-elves had been happy to give them snacks, they'd also found the trophy room where Harry had been able to see his father's Quidditch trophies, and several secret passageways, though not all of them were shortcuts.

Lunch was spent regaling the other Snakes with their adventures before Harry and the rest of the Football club went on an expedition to find their courtyard - it took a while, even with the older years being familiar with Hogwarts ever-changing floor plan.

Christopher Warren, the newly nominated president of Hogwarts' Football League (FBL) began by asking if someone would like to nominate themselves as the vice-president and second referee. Once someone was chosen for that role, Chris randomly dividing the remaining thirty-two club members into four equal teams (though he tried to make sure there was a good mix of ages and houses in each) and handed out a schedule - the club would officially meet on Saturday afternoons and they would play three games each lasting an hour long; team 1 will play team 2, team 3 playing team 4, and then the winners of the two games playing each other. Team 1 will not always play team 2 first, etc., but basically, everyone will have a chance to play for at least one hour, which is what they all wanted. The field will be available for pick up games throughout the week, but the weekly games were mandatory since the FBL was an official club and needed to track attendance.

Hopefully, this will grow into a more standardized league with many teams competing for a championship and training regiments, but for now, this was enough. Harry was not the only one who had brought a football and he, along with two others who had brought their own, donated his to the FBL until they could figure out how to make a version that could better withstand the heavy magic surrounding Hogwarts. These were stored in a trunk that was placed beside the entrance to the courtyard. They transfigured goal posts out of sticks that were lying around and then started to actually play. It was rough but fun, though Harry's team did not win their first game and so sat on the sidelines and watched the finals.

* * *

When Harry entered the common room he noticed a distinct coolness in the looks thrown his way by his housemates. Shrugging them off, Harry went to his dorm to shower off and then changed before heading out to look for his dorm mates or Neville - someone to talk to until it was time for supper.

He came across Vincent and Gregory playing exploding snap in a corner of the common room and they let him join them in the next round. They played until the others returned - they had all joined the chess club which overlapped with the FBL.

"Did you enjoy your muggle game, then?" Draco sneered at Harry as he made room for himself between Vincent and Gregory.

"Yes, actually, I did." Harry raised his eyes and threw a challenging look at Draco. "I was muggle-raised for all that I am familiar with the magical world - excuse me if it was illegal for me to fly my broom in the backyard of my muggle home. You don't like my interests, blame the ones who orphaned me and forced me to grow up surrounded by muggles!"

Draco paled and two spots of red appeared on his cheeks. "Why yo-"

"Draco, shut up," Lancel said tiredly.

"Did you hear what he said!?" Draco exclaimed.

"Yes, and I agree." Lancel took a deep breath and continued. "He grew up surrounded by muggles, it's a miracle that he knows as much about magical culture as he does. As his housemates, we should be more supportive and sympathetic to his circumstances. And he is right, he was orphaned like many of us were," Lancel's own father was in Azkaban but his mother was alive and he had been surrounded by other magical relatives. "He just had the bad luck to be without magical family to take him in."

"We're his family! I'm his distant cousin, my parents could have taken him in!" Draco argued vehemently.

"Your aunt by blood tortured the Longbottoms, a pureblood family also related to you, not a week after Harry was orphaned, do you really think anyone would have trusted your family with his care? Any of our families?" Theo asked quietly. His parents had managed to avoid Azkaban mostly because as Unspeakables they had known how to hide their allegiance very well, but he knew the reality of who they were and how they would have treated Harry.

Draco paled further and averted his eyes. "My parents did not approve of that, and father refused to help the Lestranges in their trial." He argued faintly though he knew the last part was mostly because his father was dealing with his own legal issues.

"Basically, as long as Harry agrees that the magical world is vastly superior to the muggle one, he can play his little muggle game," Blaise said with a look at Harry, who nodded.

"Of course it is, haven't I said that before? I just don't like being told what to do or what to think." Harry agreed.

Draco sighed and relaxed his posture. "I suppose that is a very Slytherin attitude to have, and it's only a game."

The discussion was closed and a new topic (the Quidditch tryouts tomorrow) was quickly introduced.

* * *

AN: I keep getting comments about the Slytherins being so accepting, but they're not. Harry Potter, the name, carries enough weight that they don't want to rock the boat - most understand the benefits of having a hero be one of them and they don't want Harry complaining to the other houses about how they treat him. Beyond that, they also agree with Harry's point about football either integrating magic (enchanted goal posts and ball, etc) or being abandoned in favor of more exciting sports like broom racing and dueling.


	10. Chapter 10

AN1: According to PotterWiki Music is only available to third years and above (I only recently checked), but that doesn't make sense as most instruments have recommended ages in the single digits to begin learning, for example, the piano is recommended to start at 4 while violin is 5 or 6. As such, I will not be changing them having Arts electives in the first year - Draco needs his stage!

AN2: I don't actually play a musical instrument, so please correct me if I chose a bad piece for Harry. PS Blaise plays the mandolin, an actual instrument, not Gandolin, someone's last name.

AN3: There is a part in this chapter that kind of establishes a magic system… I find it interesting but feel free to complain or critique.

AN4: Poll for Sirius Black's fate - canon, early escape, innocence proven, B&C? Remember, Harry has a lawyer.

* * *

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Publishing the Potter Notes is a wonderful idea! I had time on Monday to speak to one of my clients who's previously published books in the Wizarding World and they recommended Little Red Book as a publisher - they published your History book and are also willing to publish books by muggleborn authors. Generally, the publishers will take all the profit from the first 500 books sold and then split the rest 70/30 with the author (the author gets 70%). Someone will have to go through the notes and combine your parents' work, but that shouldn't take much effort. I can quietly advertise for an editor, preferably someone who knew your parents well, to do the work._

 _I'm glad to hear that you are well and that school is great Harry, but more detail would be nice. Have you decided what to do with your allowance? And how are you doing with the homeschooling work?_

 _Stay safe,_

Jackie

* * *

 _Dear Jackie,_

 _Thanks for looking into this, an editor will be great! I can send you a copy of the notes - or can you send someone? I don't trust my charm work yet._

 _I was thinking my allowance would help pay the editor…? I'm not using it and this is an investment, in my family name if nothing else._

 _I've been spending an hour before bed doing my muggle studies - they're really different from my magical work, but according to mum's notes knowing muggle science and math will really help me in NEWT level classes._

 _I've gotten to know a lot of fun people - between football, my classes, charms club, and exploring the castle, I have a lot of options for making new friends. My roommates are nice, too, and though some of them can be prats at times, they respect me when I stand up for myself. I haven't had any big fights yet and I hope to avoid those for the future._

 _My teachers are mostly great; Snape is a bit of a bully, but everyone says that's only because he wants to scare us into paying attention and studying - Potions is a dangerous subject. I can tell the Slytherins don't want to say anything too negative about him - we're big on sticking together - so I don't know how true those words are. He doesn't like me, and he doesn't like the Gryffs._

 _Astronomy is the biggest issue - it's in the middle of the night and you know I don't like the subject to begin with. I do my best, but I do it in protest._

 _With all my Snakey charm,_

 _Harry_

* * *

"Good afternoon, I am Professor Croaker, your Magical Theory instructor. Sadly, as you may tell by the title of the course, you will not use your wand at any time in this class." Saul Croaker was a serene individual who, even though he was of average height and quite chubby, gave the impression of being slight and forgettable. His voice was very composed and had a relaxing effect though he'd somehow managed to avoid putting any of his students to sleep in the ten years he'd been teaching.

The Slytherin and Ravenclaw first years had come into the lecture hall and separated themselves as usual to the two sides of the room. For some reason people avoided talking about this course and when Harry had asked around, trying to get tips to improve his performance, he was told that this class had no grades or marked work - he merely had to attend and listen. Nevertheless, Harry (as well as most of his classmates) had taken out parchment and quills in preparation for taking notes.

"Today I will give you a summary of the entire course, and for the rest of the year we will immerse ourselves in the details." Croaker continued in his soothing voice. "Let us start with the simplest question: what is magic? The word 'magic' comes to us from Ancient Mesopotamia; 'ma' means existence, 'gi' means power, and 'c' is a suffix indicating one thing is rooted in another. Thus, the word 'magic' literally translates to 'the power rooted in existence' or, in other words, 'the power of existing'. All things have power by virtue of existing - air, rock, plant, animal, even concepts like time and love.

"What, then, are magicals? Well, magicals are any entities that can manipulate magic. For example, all lilies exist, therefore they all have magic, but only magical lilies harness magic and manipulate it to serve their own purpose. And so it is with all things, the manipulation of magic, even artificially such as is the case with enchanted objects, denotes a magical variation. You are all magical humans as opposed to non-magical humans. We will eventually go in depth regarding the history of how magical humans came to be, but that will not be until near the end of the year."

This was the secret to Croakers ability to keep his students awake - he gave them information they never dreamed existed, answered questions on the nature of magic that they only now realized they should have asked. Harry was very thankful that the Professor spoke slowly with many pauses as he seemed unwilling to write anything on the blackboard behind him.

"There are many systems to dividing and categorizing magic, but the oldest and most basic of them, and the one that most other systems are based on, is the three-seven system. The seven categories are Life, White, Light, Neutral, Dark, Black, and Death. Six of these categories are paired; Life and Death, White and Black, Light and Dark.

"Neutral magic is the power derived from the user's own existence. For example, when a child experiences accidental magic, that is neutral magic as they use the magic produced from their own existence to influence reality. Though it is often the child's emotions that drive them to reach for magic, the power does not actually come from their emotions, since the power of emotions requires a wand for a human to access.

"Light and Dark magic are derived from emotions. Negative emotions - fear, loss, anger - beget Dark magic while positive emotions - happiness, love, confidence - beget Light magic. Most shield spells are partly powered by Dark magic due to fear and desperation, so do not make the mistake of associating Dark magic with evil and Light magic with good. Magic is - it has no morality, no intent. There is no good and evil in magic, only power and the will of the wielder.

"Black and White magic are derived from sacrifice. A willing sacrifice begets White magic, and an unwilling sacrifice begets Black magic. The same person willingly sacrificed will produce exponentially greater power than that same person unwillingly sacrificed. An object belonging to you and sacrificed by you will produce significantly more power than the same object stolen from someone else.

"Life and Death magic are derived from the soul. Life magic strengthens the soul, Death magic weakens it. Avoid soul magic at all costs, the price is always too high to pay, and the damage permanent."

"That was intense!" Lancel said quietly; he did not know why, but he was very reluctant to speak of what he learned from Professor Croaker.

This reluctance was shared by those around him as they all left the lecture hall with wide eyes and almost trancelike steps. As Croaker had said, he only summarized the course, but that was still a significant amount of information that they had never known before. No one talked about what magic was or what Dark magic meant. And now they, themselves, were reluctant to take about these same topics, though most of them were eager to learn more.

* * *

Music class was less mind-blowing and more light-hearted. They'd all been asked to bring their instruments with them if they had any and to prepare a piece that showed their current skill level. Harry had decided to play Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto in A minor which was not only one of his favorites but also a recent accomplishment of his. Harry had switched to Violin the summer he turned seven and had been very diligent in his training so he was excited to show off his hard-earned skills.

Walking into the amphitheater where music class took place, Harry was surprised to see a piano. "But Jackie said Hogwarts may not have a piano!" He complained.

Blaise looked at him, confused. "Why would that matter?"

"I could have continued with piano lessons," Harry explained.

"..."

"I would play the piano instead of the violin," Harry said slowly, giving Blaise a worried frown.

"Why would a piano need someone to play it?" Blaise asked. "And in any case, I thought you liked the violin."

"I do," Harry strongly preferred playing the violin, it made him feel more in control than playing an instrument that was ten times his weight. "I just don't like being misled."

"Harry, pianos are built to play themselves, very few magicals actually continue piano lessons once they're old enough to begin learning their preferred instruments. Learning to play the piano is just something you do as an introduction to music and to make your hands more limber, which helps with spell casting." Blaise explained. "Most of us learned to play the piano, but we all then moved on to other instruments."

Harry gave an exasperated huff. "Other instruments can be enchanted to play themselves, why are pianos so special?"

"Because, Mr. Potter, pianos have the surface area to hold the rune work necessary to allow for permanent enchantment." Their music Professor had overheard their conversation and had decided to answer Harry's question himself. "Now then, if I may have everyone's attention, please, we have much to do today to get organized."

The students took seats in the bottom rung of the amphitheater while the Professor stood in the center. Other than the six Slytherins, there were five Ravenclaws, three Hufflepuffs, and two Gryffindors; Harry did not personally know any of them.

"I am Professor Byrd - though I am your teacher, I am in fact a composer by trade. In fact, I will be composing a piece for you all to play at the Ministry's Winter Gala so be prepared for a public performance."

A few students were perked up at this news, but most were horrified. Harry liked performing, but he couldn't help but feel that most people would be too busy staring at the Boy-Who-Lived to actually listen to the performance.

They each were asked to give a five-minute performance of the song they picked while everyone else listened and Byrd took notes. In the end, most of them were at around Harry's level, but three were beginners, and Sophie turned out to be a prodigy - she played the french horn. Byrd took the three beginners aside for more hands on teaching after giving the others music pieces to practice. Harry had fun playing in concert with other musicians and learning new music. In later years Byrd would begin to expect then to compose their own pieces, but only if they chose to continue with the class after third year.

* * *

Flying was held outside on the Quidditch pitch. Madame Hooch, who was also the Quidditch coach and referee, was a no-nonsense witch with a hawk-like cast to her face, especially her golden eyes. Most of the Slytherin and Gryffindor first years had flown before, but that did not stop Hooch from inspecting stances and correcting grips. Dean and Hermione were the only ones who were new to broom riding by virtue of being completely muggle raised, and it showed in how nervous they were. The ancient brooms did not help matters as their bedraggled appearance did not inspire confidence and even some purebloods had trouble calling their broom to get up.

Finally, everyone had gotten their broom to float to their hands and Hooch snapped a sharp "Get on, then! On my count, you will slowly rise, and then come straight down!"

Unfortunately, it was at that point that Neville's broom malfunctioned and flew away with him.

"You there, boy, come back down this instant!" Hooch looked worried despite her words and with an order for the rest of them to stay put, she flew off after Neville.

Harry, who had been standing beside Neville, noticed Draco picking something off of the ground. "What's that?" He asked him.

"A rememberall, most likely Longbottom's." Draco, who'd spent time with Neville due to him and Harry being best friends, had no real reason to cause mischief for the Gryffindor. "I'll give it to him when he comes back down, I suppose."

"Hey, that's Neville's! Give it back, Malfoy!" Ron, seeing what was in Draco's hand, came striding over with the rest of Gryffindor following him.

"Ron-" Harry tried but Draco interrupted him.

"Why should I, Weasley? Maybe I should leave it for him up in a tree instead!" All Draco's good intentions flew out of his head with Ron's interference. Malfoys and Weasleys mixed about as well as oil and gasoline.

"Why yo-"

The whole thing degenerated into a flying competition between Ron and Draco that ended with both of them getting detention from McGonagall and Neville's rememberall being barely saved by Granger of all people - she had run after them trying to scold both and so was in position to catch the trinket when it spilled out of Draco's hand. McGonagall decided to confiscate the rememberall just in case more trouble was started over it.

Harry, after Ron and Draco had begun their argument, had elected to stay out of it as had the rest of the class - they had all expected something like this to occur eventually and did not want to be in the middle of it. They did cheer Granger when she had saved the rememberall, making her the heroine of the whole incident.

Neville meanwhile had fallen off the wayward broom and had to go to the infirmary with a broken wrist. Harry swung by after the lesson had ended to both wish his friend well and give him the details of what happened. Neville was happy to hear that his rememberall had survived, though less happy about it now being in McGonagall's possession - he would have to get it back from her.

* * *

Harry's second Potions class didn't go any better than the first. They had been tasked with brewing in pairs and Neville and Harry had elected to partner with each other again. They had brewed potions together several times before and had practiced brewing the Cure for Boils specifically over the summer, so they had no issues with the actual brewing. No, it was the professor overseeing things that was the main challenge - he had a way of standing over you as you worked that made you certain that you had erred in some way. Neville, though he did his best to hide it, was deeply affected by Snape's presence, to the point where he almost forgot to take the cauldron off the fire before adding the porcupine quills. They had been able to turn in a decent effort but not without Snape criticizing every step of their process.

The other Gryffindors, though most were glad not to have as much of Snape's attention, grew angry on Harry and Neville's behalf. The rest of the Slytherins, though they enjoyed a more positive variation of Snape's attention, were also affected, though it took them a while to begin to do so. They held themselves stiffly by the end of the lesson and as soon as the classroom door slammed shut after the last student, Harry's roommates surrounded him and drew him to the side. When the Gryffindors attempted to stop and wait for them, the Slytherin girls subtly nudged them to keep going - the boys would not show dissatisfaction with Snape's teaching in front of any non-Slytherins.

"That was bad," Lancel breathed out with a sympathetic look at Harry once he was certain of privacy.

"I knew he held a grudge against you, but that was just…" Draco apparently couldn't find a word and just shrugged helplessly at Harry.

Harry was pale as a ghost at that point, his temper only held in check by the fact that he knew he was more likely to cry than to shout. That had been the most humiliating, aggravating, demeaning experience of his life; Vernon, for all his hatred of Harry, had actually very little authority over Harry as it was mostly Petunia who dealt with him and she worried too much over her family's reputation to use public humiliation as a punishment. Harry had always been a conscientious student who made an effort to get along with his classmates which had made him a favorite of his muggle teachers. All his interactions with Jackie had ended with him feeling empowered - even when he did something wrong, she turned it into a learning opportunity and made it clear that she believed he could be better, that she was only disappointed that he wasn't living up to his potential.

Now this- this bat had stood over him and made snide comments about how he cut up his roots - they weren't even criticisms as there was nothing to criticise, just things about some people having all the time in the world and how being able to afford good tools could make up for incompetence. Argh! As if Harry hadn't studied for hours over the past two weeks to prepare for this class, as if he hadn't been reading potion books and practicing brewing techniques since he received his first potions kit when he was seven, that man just stood there and made Harry feel like an idiot!

Well, he'd show him! He had nothing to criticise today for all his insinuations, and he won't ever! Harry Potter was not a quitter, and he was not letting some bitter old man (Snape's not really that old) bully him into becoming one now!

Stalking into the nearest boys' restroom (followed by his conspicuously quiet roommates) Harry splashed some water on his face and then dried off. Turning to the others, he tried to give them a small smile that was more of a grimace. "Come on, we don't want to be late for Herbology." And off he went.

After exchanging knowing looks, the others quickly caught up to Harry and started a conversation on which House had the best Quidditch line-up. They understood what Harry wanted - pretend this never happened, but revenge will be cold and sweet.

And proving Severus Snape wrong was the sweetest revenge there was.

* * *

That BOY! That aggravating, infuriating Potter Spawn! In his own House!

Severus stalked back and forth in his private rooms - he had the period before lunch free.

And how he'd been made welcome among the Snakes, won them over with a few pastries. His undeserved fame had bought him time and tolerance - Slytherins were too cunning to outright attack the Wizarding World's darling savior. They stayed back and waited, looking for the best way to make use of him, but look at him now! He had them all charmed - polite manners, obviously deep pockets, making connections in the other houses - but they didn't KNOW! Not like he did! Potters were not to be trusted - they'd steal your most precious treasures, just when you thought they had no chance! Hadn't his father done that to him? Potter Sr was hated by Lily for all that he run after her for years. She called him a toerag, had promised that she wanted nothing to do with his pretty face and charming hijinks, but what did that lead to? She'd married him, hadn't she? Given him that spawn!

The boy who had Lily's eye and Lily's talent…

NO! HE IS NOTHING LIKE LILY! NOTHING!

He was probably just waiting, building up for something big, it's what his father would do.

A Potter in Slytherin… James Potter must be rolling in his grave… If Black were to find out…

Snape sneered.

* * *

Herbology was a good physical outlet for Harry's anger. He and Neville avoided talking about what happened during Potions and everyone followed their lead. As they all walked to lunch, Harry hung back with Neville to talk to him privately. "Do you want to study together for Potions?"

"Sure, but what's the point? He'll still bully us." Neville said with a defeated sigh.

"The point," Harry said strongly. "Is that he'll look like the slug he is if he keeps sniping at us without reason,"

Neville studied Harry's face for a minute before nodding. "Alright, Harry, is tomorrow morning good for you?"

"I'll see you tomorrow morning in the library."


	11. Chapter 11

AN1: POLL ON SIRIUS'S FATE, please go over to my author page to vote. For some of the options, I need to start setting the groundwork over the next couple of chapters.

AN2: Having read so many fanfics, and so been exposed to so many possible reasons as to why Voldie was able to build such a large following, my own take on this is colored by the writing of others. Unfortunately, I can't remember which point was originally made by which author (it would actually take a lot of research to map this out), but please understand my intent is not to plagiarize. I fully admit some of these justifications for the purebloods' actions are not my own invention but I read them in other works that I now can't quite remember. As always, I'm open to criticism. I will say that the works of mad_fairy over on AO3 are pretty awesome - they have two completed series where Harry is pro-magic and anti-muggle, kind of. These works also serve as an inspiration for my own characterization of some of the canon characters, most notably Draco and Hermione. My Harry is unfortunately not as smart or clever, merely has higher academic expectations placed on him.

* * *

Neither Harry nor Neville came alone to the library that Saturday morning - Granger had overheard Neville telling Ron about the study date while Millicent (not a naturally academic person) had asked Harry if he would be willing to tutor her in some subjects, including Potions. Harry and Neville had agreed that they would attempt their Potions homework on their own on Friday and would meet up to compare notes and quiz each other. Neville assumed that Granger had already done her homework and Millicent had done hers at the same time as Harry with help from the Potter Notes.

When Harry, who had already staked out a table in the library and was going over the impact that brewing direction and speed had on potions with Millicent, saw Granger walk in behind Neville, he immediately put away the Potter Notes. When Millicent made an inquiring hum, he hissed, "I don't want Granger to find them!"

Millicent sneered in her direction and nodded.

Neville knew Harry had good notes, but he didn't realize their usefulness, and neither had Harry until he began using them during school. The Slytherins had found out before he had thought to hide them but Harry preferred to keep them quiet until they were published.

Neville greeted the two Snakes as he sat down and took out his study materials. Granger also sat down and took out her study materials (double the amount of everyone else's) but did not constrain herself to a simple greeting.

"It's good that you three are starting your homework early, you never know how long it will take. I myself am finished-"

Neville, seeing burgeoning insult on Harry and Millicent's faces, interrupted his housemate. "Hermione, I already finished my Potions homework and I think they did, too."

"We did it yesterday," Harry confirmed.

Granger was obviously surprised. "You did? Already?"

"It wasn't that hard. Why, did you find it challenging?" Millicent asked in a faux concerned voice.

"Of course not! I just thought-"

"You thought no one else was as smart as you," Harry said in a steely voice.

"That's not what I was going to say!" Granger immediately shot back.

"Then what were you going to say?" Neville was a nice boy by all accounts, nicer than Harry, but he wasn't blind to Hermione's arrogance when it came to academics.

"Never mind," She said quickly. "What will we be doing then?"

"Quizzing each other on the reading material mostly," Harry explained. "We don't want to be embarrassed in front of everyone."

Neville stepped on Hermione's foot before she could say anything in regards to the last Potions' class and instead began quizzing Millicent. It ended up being a very enjoyable hour as it all turned into a game of who could come up with the most ridiculous question. Even Hermione relaxed and joined in the fun, though at the end she looked guilty and insisted on staying behind and "getting actual work done." None of them realized that there were other first-years near them (Ravenclaws) who had copied their game and found it very fun.

Over the next weeks, the Quizzing Hour on Saturday mornings became very popular with first-years from all houses, forcing them to find an abandoned classroom to use as it got too loud for the library. It evolved into the first round being focused on Potions while a second round covered all their classes. Few showed up every Saturday due to other clubs and interests but most took time during the week to play at least the Potions' version just to stay sharp for Snape's biweekly effort to trip students up. It also had the benefit of giving Harry the opportunity to socialize with most of his yearmates - while also improved their learning, but whatever. Some, like Ron, were in it for the competition and in the hope of stumping their rivals, but since everyone benefited anyway, the professors let them be.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of the game was the change in Granger's attitude - the game required quick, short answers that showed understanding of the material rather than just memorization, something Granger had a hard time adapting to. This carried over in how she answered questions in class which made her classmates (and professors) happier, though it still was annoying to have her hand shoot up and wave before professors even finished asking questions.

Harry continued to receive updates from Jackie regarding the Potter Notes; she had been able to track down one of his parents' closest friends, Remus Lupin, who had been his father's roommate at Hogwarts as well as one of his three best friends. Lupin had shared the prefect role with Lily and so had gotten to know her as well while they were still in school. Lupin had agreed to compile the notes, as well as adding his own from shared study sessions, in return for ten percent of the profit, though he would receive a hundred galleon advance from the publisher. Harry had owled the notes to Jackie before lunch on the last Saturday of September and they were returned to him Monday morning once Jackie had used her magicked long-lasting copies of them. These copies were then sent to Lupin to work with.

In mid-October, someone had the bright idea to dare the Weasley twins to get a picture of what was in the third-floor corridor. By the next day the twins had gotten over their trauma and were selling copies of the photo for two sickles a piece - it was very popular as people don't see giant, three-headed dogs every day. The picture of McGonagall's face when she found out what they had done sold for five sickles a copy.

McGonagall had immediately gone to scold the person she held responsible for the whole affair - the headmaster.

"Albus, I told just announcing to a group of teenagers to stay away would not work!" She began as soon as she stepped into Dumbledore's office.

"Especially not when a quarter of them are sorted based on their recklessness," Snape sneered. He and the other Heads had followed McGonagall to support her (and to watch the show, but it was mostly for the children… really, it was!).

"Oh, and yours are better? They were the ones to dared them into it!" McGonagall turned to glare at the potions' master.

"There is a muggle saying about a bridge that works well here." The man muttered quietly enough that McGonagall could pretend to not have heard him.

"Nevermind muggle sayings, Albus, do something to ensure the students' safety or we will!" Sprout insisted.

"I suppose an age line would not be out of the question," Albus murmured.

"You should have done that from the beginning!" Was McGonagall's exasperated response.

* * *

On the morning of Monday, October 28th the Daily Prophet ran an article on the upcoming release of the Potter Notes: A Hogwarts Study Guide for the Beleaguered Student. The article emphasized the importance of the Potter Notes as a memorial for the Potters as well as the fact that a portion of the proceeds would be donated to the Department of Law Enforcement. Harry's name was not mentioned anywhere in the article (something he had insisted on) and instead, the paper included quotes from people who had known the Potters. Flitwick had been the only professor quoted and he had spoken of Lily's talent for magic and how much of a loss her death was to the charms community.

Both Blaise and Pansy had begun subscribing to the Daily Prophet after the Gringotts break in just so they would not fall behind in the gossip. Theo, after borrowing the paper from Blaise and reading the article, was sending Harry a bemused look. "You're publishing them."

"Yes," Harry answered simply and continued eating his breakfast.

"I thought you didn't want to share them."

"I didn't want people who disrespect and dishonor the memory of my parents and what they stood for to use their work to get ahead. This way, the Notes are available to everyone and my parents will receive proper acknowledgment for their brilliance."

This caused Theo to blink and made the nearby Slytherins who'd been listening turn their head to look at Harry. One of them was Murk - there was always at least one prefect sitting near the first-years during meals to keep an eye on them and moderate their conversation. It would not do for Slytherins to argue or discuss confidential information where other houses could hear. It was the prefects' job to prevent first-years from making such mistakes.

This was one topic that needed to stay in-house. "Enough," Murk said quietly but firmly. "We will discuss this tonight."

Sophie immediately began a discussion on the newest fashions reported on by Witch Weekly (a very popular magazine among witches) which the other girls casually took up. Blaise and Draco began debating an upcoming Quidditch match while the others went back to breakfast. Thankfully, Harry had been sitting in his usual seat against the wall and had spoken in a quiet voice that did not carry to the other tables which meant the first-years would not be facing serious censure from the rest of their house.

These casual discussions continued throughout the rest of the day with all the first years avoiding any serious topics or mention of the Notes, except for Harry who would only say that it was something his parents would want according to people who knew them. This was supported by McGonagall, Flitwick, and Pomphrey all giving him more points than usual and being extra cheerful though misty-eyed in his presence.

That night, after dinner, the Slytherins casually exited the great hall year by year. The first-years had the ready excuse of Astronomy to leave early, the fifth and seventh years needed to study, the fourth years had an upcoming test, etc. By 7:00 pm all the Slytherins were gathered in the common room.

Though the room was exceptionally large and had a lot of seating, cushions were spread on the floor for the youngest students as there weren't enough seats to go around. The Slytherin were gathered in a large circle with most of the attention being turned towards the large fireplace, in front of which were a pair of armchairs. The two seventh year prefects, Lee and Murk, sat in these with the four other prefects positioned near them.

Lee held up his wand for quiet and began to speak. "When Harry Potter was first sorted to our house, some of us were happy, some indifferent, and some angry. Most of us saw the wisdom in waiting to see if Potter had what it takes to be one of us, if he would fit in. For the most part he has, but there are clear issues that still need to be addressed."

Lee turned to look at where the first years were sitting. "Potter's roommates, what do you have to say on the matter?"

The six boys shared uncertain looks before Draco began to speak. "Like you said, Harry mostly fits in well. He plays that muggle game of his, and reads muggle books, but other than that he fully embraces the magical world."

Theo spoke up. "The books are educational, about mathematics and muggle alchemy. There is nothing wrong with the pursuit of knowledge."

Alexander, Theo's cousin, nodded his head. "I agree. It has long been accepted that due to there being more muggles and they being more willing to experiment on each other, there are areas of knowledge that muggles are better equipped to study. Sometimes wizards would even hire muggle researchers to conduct initial studies and then go further with magic."

Murk looked interested. "Are your books applicable to our own subjects?" She asked Harry.

"According to my parents' notes, muggle mathematics forms the basis of Arithmancy and, more advanced mathematics, can be used to improve enchantment. Muggle sciences like chemistry and biology apply to transfiguration, and high-level physics can be applied to astronomy." Harry took a careful breath and continued. "I'm nowhere near that level yet, but I would like to learn the basics in case I have an interest later."

Lee nodded. "So long as your end goal continues to be a greater understanding of magic, there is no harm in studying muggle subjects. However, I will open the floor to anyone who objects."

Two girls who looked to be twins raised their wands, but only one of them spoke. "Our only objection is that this is all based on Potter's word, which we don't trust. Is he willing to show us these muggle books so that we may judge their usefulness?"

"Of course. You can make copies of them yourself." Harry didn't wait for Murk's or Lee's permission to answer.

Murk nodded. "Good. Now, this muggle game. I've heard of it. I've also heard your insistence that it will either start integrating magic or lose the interest of the students. Explain."

Harry took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking. "I'm an active person - I love flying, but that is more about coordination and balance than physical activity. I like running and kicking, dodging and physically competing against other people. Football lets me do that; it's a fun game that can get very rough - I've broken my arm twice playing it. However, our ball is made of a muggle material that will break down due to the magical environment so we're all trying to come up with a magical alternative. I've suggested using an oversized gobstone but we haven't decided yet. In a decade, magical football will be very different from muggle football just like magical chess is very different from muggle chess." Most students appeared surprised by the last bit so Harry explained. "Muggle chess pieces don't move or talk, you have to pick them up and move them."

Draco was not the only one bemused by this piece of muggle trivia but the prefects chose to quickly move the meeting along. Murk turned to look at the rest of the house. "Anyone have any remaining issues with, uh, football?"

Most shook their heads and a few, notably Marcus Flint, looked as if they would be willing to try the game.

Murk's face took on a more serious cast. "Now we're getting to the reason for this meeting. You lot," She sent a look at the first-years. "Had made public comments before in regards to blood politics and the previous war before, but we've let them go as it was still early in the year and you hadn't had time to get used to how Slytherin house operates. However, starting now, we expect you to be less obvious." She quieted and Alexander Nott took over.

"Some of the reasonable dislike the purebloods hold for muggles and muggleborns will be covered in your Theory course so I won't repeat it. There is some reasonable dislike that won't be mentioned there that is largely political and societal in nature, as well as some not so reasonable hatred.

"Muggleborns are in effect immigrants to the Magical World, yet they, and the Ministry, refuse to acknowledge this which allows them to steadily and gradually change wizarding culture so that it more resembles muggle culture. A hundred years ago, magicals all over the isles held celebrations for the solstices and equinoxes, allowing for thousands of British wizards to participate in annual rituals that renewed our defenses and strengthened our community. Now, only the most conservative of magical countries still do this - most instead celebrate local muggle holidays like Halloween and Christmas.

"Another issue is less reasonable but still relevant - wealth. The magical world is smaller than the muggle one, and our wealth is not in gems or metal, but in enchanted objects and hoarded knowledge. Muggleborns, who do not have such wealth passed down to them from their ancestors, have long used the money they brought in from the muggle world to buy knowledge and objects and then either shared it, making it nearly worthless in an economic sense or had it destroyed due to it being dangerous. As if their muggle technology was not dangerous! Who destroyed Hiroshima? What led to the destruction of Atlantis? Muggle technology!"

Harry remembered the invisibility cloak in his trust vault and what Jackie had said about it being valuable. Harry had actually come across information on invisibility cloaks while researching invisibility spells; such cloaks stopped working after a decade, but his still worked perfectly and had been used by his father before him. It was a priceless piece of magic that any unsavory person would love to get a hold of.

Alexander was not done - he turned accusing eyes to Harry. "Now you've done the same - you released knowledge that should have been kept private to the public, decreasing its value."

Harry sat up - that was not what had happened. "I did no such thing! This was not new information - we're all learning it right now! My parents only organized it in one place! And I didn't do it to spread information, I did to spread awareness. Every time a dark lord comes along, every time magicals fight, it's always the strongest and smartest that get involved! They're the ones who die or are disabled or end up in prison! Yeah, my mum was muggleborn, but she was magical, powerful, and brilliant! And now she's gone because some blowhard decided she wasn't worthy of her wand!"

"That's not why she died!" Draco was quickly shushed by those around him but it was too late, Harry had already heard.

"What do you mean? What do you know!?" Harry demanded of the students around him. His eyes were wild behind his glasses and he refused to accept their silence. "TELL ME!"

Draco disregarded the others with a simple, "He needs to know," Before turning to Harry. "There was a prophecy, about you, that's why we're all so sure it was you and not your parents who defeated him."

Harry became numb. "Prophecies are troll shit." He said in a flat voice.

"Yeah, most of them are," Theo said with a strained laugh. "But they are also self-fulfilling. The Dark Lord, well… There is a reason Hogwarts began teaching Magical Theory ten years ago. Some magic… it should be avoided at all costs. The Dark Lord, while he was still at Hogwarts, he looked into things that… Well, the results of them did not become obvious to the rest of us until decades later. By then, it was too late, many of us had already sworn to follow him. We did our best to circumvent his orders, but, well…"

"It was hard." Lancel took over. "There's a reason I don't blame you for my dad being in Azkaban - what he did to end up there went against everything my family believed in. What you said about killing the best of us is true, but those who were closest to the Dark Lord, who held his favor, most of them were as broken as he was by the end of it."

"When he heard about the prophecy, he took it seriously and went after you. We don't know what it said, only that it scared and angered him. When you come of age you'll be allowed to enter the Hall of Prophecies in the Department of Mysteries and view the recording of the prophecy yourself." The twin who had previously kept silent now spoke - she was Flora Carrow, and her sister was Hestia.

Lee spoke up in an effort to get away from the topic. "Back to the point, Harry is correct that the information was already available for those willing to put a little effort in, but nevertheless, it is a bad precedent to set." He gave a stern look at Harry. "There are extenuating circumstances in this case that make your decision understandable but don't do it again. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is as bad as power for the sake of power. Knowledge should be treated carefully, secreted away and only released in small pieces over a long period of time so as to prevent its misuse. We are not Ravenclaws, we know how damaging information can be."

Harry didn't actually know, but he also didn't want to share his invisibility cloak - even to have it studied by someone else - and he definitely was not sharing his father's joke book, which actually included joke spells invented by James. So, Harry nodded his head in understanding, though others mistook it for agreement.

* * *

AN: I didn't expect to address the reasoning behind the war so early, but here it is. Notice the hatred for muggle blood was not explained - Theory will also address the dangers of inbreeding. As for knowledge sharing - I don't like to share, especially when I'm met with expectation rather than gratitude. All wizards need is magic, so magical advances are more valuable than gold.


	12. Chapter 12

AN: Remember that the older years were passing down what they understood from what their parents had told them, a lot of which was justification for how they managed to find themselves oath-sworn to a mad Dark Lord. As for not sharing knowledge, Wizarding patent laws are as effective as their libel laws - they exist on paper but need deep pockets to apply. So, Slytherin house teaches students to keep secrets and not share knowledge and after they graduate their families teach them about specific markets and when to share knowledge for the best economic return. This is similar to companies keeping recipes for dyes and flavors secret in real life. These teenagers haven't gotten the second set of lessons yet, but Harry is begining to.

* * *

The autumn equinox of 1991 took place on September 23rd and was quietly observed by those students who followed the old ways. Jackie did not follow the old way but the Longbottoms did (as apparently had the Potter family) and Augusta had taught Harry and Neville together regarding the subject. As such, Harry was one of the students who meditated on balance that morning and thought on how he could increase balance in his life. All that is to say that the Slytherins were quite willing to show up at the Halloween feast and stuff their faces with sweets - they had nothing better to do.

Harry, however, did; Jackie had always taken him to his parents graves on Halloween and christmas, and for the past couple of years he had also taken the time to hold a candle vigil for them in private on the anniversary of their death - this was supposed to strengthen his ties to them and increase the effectiveness of the wards. It would help more if Dudley and Petunia joined him but he wasn't expecting miracles.

Unfortunately, Hogwarts bylaws expressly forbid guardians from removing students from the school for personal reasons, so visiting Godric's Hollow was not an option. He had double checked with the prefects (there were many orphans at Hogwarts) and they had confirmed this. Instead, Harry had let his prefects know that he will be missing the Halloween feast and will instead take the opportunity to hold a quiet vigil in his dorm, which they gave him permission for.

Halloween, 1991 was a Thursday, a long school day for Harry, but that was good because he preferred to have the distraction. That morning many students (most of the fifth and seventh years) received their pre-ordered copies of the Potter Notes (sold for one galleon) including the Slytherin first years. Theo, in particular, seemed fascinated, looking ahead through his copy to see what they would be studying next semester. The study guide was very thick and covered Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, DADA, Astronomy, Herbology, History, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures. The Arts electives did not have traditional exams, Theory did not exist ten years ago, and Flying and the seminars had no marks, not even pass/fail. Astronomy and History were only covered until OWLs, while his mother had not taken Creatures and his father had not taken Ancient Runes. Lupin had done well in keeping his parents' notes organized, integrating them in a way that maintained the flow of organization while clearly delineating between what was Lily's work and what was James'. According to Jackie, the pre-orders alone had exceeded 500 sales, and Harry should expect to see a nice profit by the summer.

Many students were grateful to Harry for the study guide and a few even stopped him throughout the week to personally thank him. The staff table, however, saw a different reaction.

Flitwick was obviously happy - a new compilation of knowledge would be very beneficial to those Ravenclaws whose interests were not covered in Hogwarts classes. They could now keep up with the lesson plans much easier and would have more time to concentrate on their interests. Sprout was also happy for her students, but she was worried that the study guide would make school too easy - teaching was not just about passing on information, it was also training study skills, and a thorough study guide pre-empted the need to do a lot of the researching and organizing. McGonagall was worried about that, too, but she was also worried about younger students having access to advanced magical theory - if they tried self-transfiguration without adequate supervision they could cause significant damage to themselves. Most of the other professors had similar concerns - they had not realized how extensive the study guide would be. Who knew their students kept this kind of notes after Hogwarts?

Severus Snape's reaction was the most negative - he had not been happy to hear of Lily's notes being published in any case, and so was not happy to see the copies arrive that morning. He remembered Lily's notes very well, they had sat together and each made their own. It took him most of the day before he snatched one of his student's guide to look through, and only then did he realize that Lily had included some of the brewing tricks he had taught her in her notes.

They were not many, just the basic ones - a more gentle cleaning charm that left less magical residue, an improved chopping method - but it was still knowledge that he had had no intention of being spread beyond Lily. and now she was being credited with them because the Prince family had not before released this information! He couldn't even say anything because it was completely his fault for sharing family secrets! He could only be grateful that he had only shared a fraction of what he knew, otherwise it would all have been printed to the public.

This, of course, only added to his frustration with the Potter brat; he had been forced to cut back on his public animosity due to the impact it had been having on his reputation. A few of the older students had hinted that he was beginning to be perceived as a bitter has-been stuck in the past. The boy was canny enough to study well for his classes and not to obviously antagonize anyone - Snape had no allies in his deep and abiding hatred of Potter.

As the day wore on, the students' excitement for the upcoming feast showed itself in their unusually high spirits. The professors, having learned from previous experience, provided more practical lessons for that day and gave them plenty of opportunities to expend their excess energy such as by handling very active plants in Herbology or practicing the levitation charm in Charms.

The first-year Gryffindors had Charms with the Hufflepuffs after lunch and things were going fine until Hermione Granger, with the intent of helping, began lecturing Ron on the proper way to pronounce Wingardium Leviosa. The boy, already frustrated with his lack of success, lost his temper when she was able to levitate her feather right in front of him and received points for the accomplishment. While walking out of the class, Ron was so busy complaining to Neville that he did not realize she had overheard the less than pleasant things he had to say.

"Honestly, it's no wonder she has no friends!" Ron said in frustration.

"Ron, that's not-" Neville began only to be shoved aside by a crying Hermione running away. "Wait, Hermione!" Neville threw a glare at a sheepish Ron before running after her.

Because Hermione was really weighed down with extra books, Neville was able to catch up to her before she reached the girls' loo. "Hermione, hey, don't cry. You know he doesn't mean it, and it's not true anyway; we're friends, aren't we?" Neville said whatever came to his mind as he gingerly patted her on the back. Eventually, after a while, her sobs began to ease.

"*Sniff sniff* We ar-are?" Hermione stared at Neville tearfully, and he immediately nodded his head.

"Of course! Ron just gets frustrated when he can't do something and then he blows his top. He's usually very sorry afterward. After the sorting, he spent most of the night yelling at me for not telling him I knew Harry." Neville assured her. "Now, how about we get to class?"

"I'M LATE! Why didn't you tell me!? Oh no…" With a quick (and unexpected) hug for Neville, Hermione ran off presumably to her next class while a bemused Neville made his way to his own Arts Elective (visual arts).

* * *

Harry went to his dorm immediately after his last class of the day (Flying) and put his things away before going to the showers. Since he was planning to spend the rest of the day holding vigil for his parents, he wanted to get ready for bed early and just close himself off in his bed. His roommates, already aware of his plans, left him alone.

Vigils can be held anytime for as long as one wanted to, but more effort and care led to a more spiritual experience. In this case, Harry planned on fasting from food as well as the company of others. He would instead take the time to continue reading his mother's diaries - he was already up to her third year, and they had begun to include more mentions of the Marauders, his father's group of friends. They weren't very kind to Severus Snape, Lily's friend, but Harry didn't think that gave Snape the right to take his lingering hatred out on Harry. The Marauders were also very inventive and entertaining - for every joke they played on Snape, they played ten on the school as a whole and dozens on others. It did seem though that Snape and James were both vying for Lily's attention, and since Snape had more of it, James was beginning to increase the attention he paid Snape.

* * *

When it was time to walk to the feast, Hermione walked with Neville and Ron. It turned out that Neville had been right - Ron had sidled up to Hermione during FLying class and given her a half-muttered apology with a very red face. Hermione accepted it, and they moved on from there. For some reason, this had made both of them more comfortable with each other.

The dessert had just appeared when Quirrel burst into the hall looking as if demons from the seventh level of hell were after him. "TROLL! In the dungeons. Thought you ought to know." He wheezed out before falling into a dead faint.

His words led to a clamor among both students and staff before Dumbledore let out a BANG from his wand. "QUIET! Prefects, if you would lead your houses back to their common rooms please." As the prefects stood up, Dumbledore turned to Sprout and Hagrid who had ended up standing near him when the staff had gotten up during the initial confusion. "Pomona, could you house the Slytherins with your students for the night? Hagrid, please help her keep the students together."

"Of course, Albus." Pomona immediately nodded - she had been concerned about the Slytherin students heading back to the dungeon herself.

"I'm on it, Headmaster." Hagrid nodded his shaggy head and followed Sprout as she went to inform both sets of prefects.

Ron, Neville, and Hermione followed their own prefects out of the great hall. However, when they reached the second floor, Scabbers, Ron's rat, escaped his pocket and started running away.

"Scabbers! Come back!"

"Ron, we're falling behind!" Hermione moaned.

"I just need to catch that bloody rat!"

"Get him quickly, then we'll run to catch up," Neville suggested even as he ran after the other two.

Somehow, they ended up near the second-floor girls' loo. Hermione, as the only girl, was elected to go in an get him.

"Oh, honestly, you two!" She huffed as she went in.

However, just then, the two boys started wrinkling their noses. "Hey, Ron, do you smell something… off?"

*Grunt*

Slowly, with widening eye, the two boys turned around and saw the troll standing a few meters away.

"Uhmm, nice troll?" Ron tried only to flinch as the troll started making its way towards them.

"Hermione, the troll is here!" Neville shouted out while taking out his wand. "Ron, come on!"

"What do we do? We haven't covered trolls yet!" Ron said wildly as he also took out his wand.

"Think of something!"

"You think of something! Ahhh!"

*Grunt, smash* The troll had gotten close enough to attempt to hit them with its club. Ron and Neville both jumped away to either side, causing the club to smash into the floor where they'd been. The troll turned to Neville and smashed again - Neville got away but tripped and fell, losing his wand and twisting his ankle. Looking up at the club raised above him as the troll went to hit him for the third time, Neville yelled out. "RON! DO SOMETHING!"

"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!"

The troll brought its arm down, but the club stayed in the air, which cause the troll to stare in confusion at its empty hand. Turning to look up at the floating club, the troll blinked and then got its head bashed when Ron ended the charm. Neville had to scramble backward with his hands to get out of the way of the falling troll.

"OH GOODNESS! Neville, are you alright!" Hermione came out of the loo holding Scabbers in one hand and her wand in the other. She came forward to check on Neville, carefully passing Scabbers to Ron on her way. As she began to give Neville first aid, Ron picked up his wand from where it had fallen (thankfully undamaged from the excitement) and handed it over to him.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?" The professors had arrived.

* * *

"So, how much trouble are you three in?" Harry asked Neville the next day during Herbology. Having skipped out on the Halloween feast, Harry had not heard about the trolls until that morning - his house, other than just checking to see he was still healthy, had respected his vigil and not interacted with him until the next day. Neville and Ron (mostly Ron) had told him their version of events on the way to Potions, but he hadn't had a chance to question them due to Snape's unusually volatile mood.

"Detention with Hagrid once a month for the rest of the year, and twenty points each - Flitwick and Quirrell thought we should be rewarded for doing so well against a troll, and Pomfrey thought Hermione had a future as a healer, but everyone else thought we were idiots. Poor Hermione doesn't know whether to soak up all the positive attention from the students or hide her head in shame from the professors." Neville replied while continuing to care for his tiger lily, which purred in his hand as opposed of the other tiger lilies that kept trying to bite the poor students caring for them.

"Do you need me to hold your hand while you write to your grandmother?" Harry asked.

Neville blanched. "Gr-gran? She doesn't need to know. She doesn't!" He insisted in the face of Harry's snickers.

"Oh, like McGonagall isn't going to mention this during their monthly tea?"

Neville whimpered as he thought of Augusta Longbottom's response.

* * *

The first Quidditch game of the year occurred on the second weekend of November between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Gryffindor had a very young team as the captain, Oliver Wood, was only a fifth year but was the oldest and most senior member of the team. Individually, the players were very skilled but the issue was their teamwork. To be blunt, the new seeker, Cormac McLaggen, had the bad habit of critiquing his teammates' performance instead of focusing on his own role. On the other hand, the Slytherin team was made up of physically imposing young men who worked well together. Marcus Flint, the captain, was an intimidating fellow who saw no issue with playing rough on the pitch. The Gryffindors fought hard and scored well but McLaggen's lack of focus (and his interference with his teammates) meant that Terrence Higgs caught the snitch and victory went to Slytherin.

The Slytherin victory party lasted well into the night - no one throws a party like a bunch of over-indulged prats with access to their parents' money. The butterbeer flowed, someone managed to sneak both sweet and savory pies from the kitchen, and once the younger years were shuffled off to bed the more interesting beverages came out. Harry could still hear them going at it when he finally fell asleep near two in the morning.

November passed and December also seemed to be in a hurry to move on. Ron, Neville, and Hermione had established a strong friendship between themselves and as a result, Harry ended up spending more time with the other two - honestly, more time than he wanted. Ron seemed to only have two moods, lazy and competitive. When he was lazy, he didn't want to get any work done, and when he was competitive he was a sore loser. He also got very annoyed when Neville spent too much time in the library with Harry and Hermione and much preferred staying in the Gryffindor common rooms. He also tended to bring up Harry's fame and/or fortune at odd times which made Harry uncomfortable.

Hermione, meanwhile, while she had become more bearable over time, still had the bad habit of scolding people or imposing her way of doing things on them. She would write double the length that professors asked for on assignments but would be very put out when Harry and Neville, who stayed within the length limits, got the same marks if not sometimes higher than her. She would then spend the rest of the day either hounding them to look over their returned assignment or sniffing in affront that her work was not marked as obviously superior.

The two were fun, but in small doses only as far as Harry was concerned. It was a similar case for some of his housemates but they were less likely to impose themselves on the limited time Harry and Neville had to spend together. Harry did manage to convince Ron to join the Chess club while letting Hermione know about muggle homeschooling. This meant that there were several hours a week that the two were busy elsewhere and Neville and Harry could hang out either together or with people that the previous two did not get along with, mainly Slytherins. Ron had the bad habit of looking down on Hufflepuffs and making what he thought were discrete comments while Hermione was frustrated by the Ravenclaws who she believed did not put enough effort into their school work. They had tried to explain to her that they did enough to show their understanding but were actually studying ahead for future years, but she did not approve of this. Hermione was a very methodical, by the book person and did not like deviating from the prescribed course of action.

Neville was willing to make friends with anyone willing to put in the effort while Harry was polite but did not see the point of going out of his way to spend excessive amounts of time with people he did not like. Harry also found Hermione's 'I know better' attitude a lot more frustrating than Neville did and had to constantly bite her tongue when ever she gave one of her lectures. It didn't help that at age twelve, Hermione Granger wanted to lecture, not discuss - she had little interest in listening to Harry's opinion. Harry hoped she would learn to open her mind as she got older, but for now, she was not a friend.

* * *

AN: When Neville went into the Ministry, he was nearly 16 as opposed to being 11, had already sat his OWL exams (albeit barely), and this was the first time he was away from her for more than a few days - for him to get into this much adventure is just too soon for her piece of mind. Also, the troll incident would have been a good opportunity to break Frank's wand if he had kept it.


	13. Chapter 13

AN1: Please understand you are getting explanations of the magical world through either Harry's understanding of it or from biased sources. Anti-muggleborn sentiment is not pure racism - yes, there are elements of snobbery and the people on top wanting to keep their status, but there are also fears of losing their culture and traditions and becoming a funhouse mirror reflection of the muggle world. I'm still not sure what's going on because part of my interest in writing this is me trying to work out the logic behind why rich, educated, politically canny people would turn to terrorism to achieve their end, especially when half those they killed were their own cousins!

AN2: I'm sorry it's short - I wrote a bunch of scenes that I ended up putting aside for later because Harry did not sound or act like an eleven-year-old in them. Also, with school starting, I don't have as much time to write.

* * *

Magicals have long been secular - the separation of church and state dates back to ancient times when muggles kept trying (and sometimes succeeding) to build religions around particularly famous or infamous magicals. This led witches and wizards to forego organized religion amongst themselves in an effort to reduce the incidents of especially powerful witches and wizards setting themselves up as gods amongst wizarding kind. It was also humbling to see whole cultures evolve around the idea of dragons being wise all knowing beings when they had the brain to body ratio of chickens. Instead, faith was largely kept private and the magical community agreed to respect each others' spiritual practices whatever they may be. Communal events revolved around magic - group celebrations that marked shifts in the world's magic and times of great balance or imbalance.

When the Statute of Secrecy came to be, magical schools began to follow the same schedules as nearby muggle educational institutions as a way to hide the movement of thousands of school children. Thus, in Scotland there were Christmas and Easter breaks, in the Middle East there were various Eid breaks, etc.

While many British magicals enjoy gift giving during the winter breaks, for some of them it is due to Yule, for others Christmas, for others still it is Hanukkah, and for most just for the fun of it. Overtime, a negative connotation came to be associated with not participating in communal events. 'Bloodtraitors' were those who did not take part in group rituals that celebrated and (some claim) stabilized the magic of the world - betraying magical blood by eschewing magical traditions to fully embrace muggle celebrations. Due to political pressure from either side, few reliable studies have been conducted on the benefit of these rituals, and the results of those few studies were inconclusive.

All this is to say that when Augusta invited Harry and Jackie to join her family for the Winter Solstice, Harry was happy to accept as she had also invited him to stay over for the break. Jackie was curious enough to accept as well though she was a bit more hesitant than Harry.

Neville was known for spending a lot of his free time in the greenhouse, and he was often joined by Harry, but on December 22 (solstice) the boys were joined by the extended Longbottom family for a night of planting new seeds to mark the longest night of the year. New seeds were planted as an act of hope that winter would end and new life would burst forth. Other families would celebrate other ways - some built bonfires and kept them fed throughout the night, others held vigils, but they were all communal celebrations about families holding strong during the long night. Exchanging gifts was good and well, but it was important to remember that in times of strife and hardship, our family and community connections will help us weather through. Harry, who had no family, felt this lack constantly. It was why he was so jealous of his friendship with Neville - even Jackie was there because of a contract, but Neville was there because he cared, and he was the first to care. All that night, as he planted new seeds, he thought about how his time in Slytherin had been spent planting the seeds for new connections, new friendships, and he hoped that just as these seeds bloomed come spring, that his new relationships would also bloom.

The Ministry's Winter Gala was held on December 24th and it started at 2 pm with performances by Hogwarts arts students. There were two separate drama performances - 'The Frost King' which was based on a Russian fairy tale, and 'Farewell to Myrddin' which told of how Merlin gained his fame. Both plays were interspersed with original performances by the dance and music students and had sets designed and built by the visual arts students. Harry was happy to perform, especially as they had all worn identical uniforms that helped him blend in. Jackie insisted on Harry leaving immediately after the performances had ended and before any nosy adults found him, which he was completely fine with since he could see the gala was turning into one of the boring adult gatherings that Vernon was so fond of.

The next morning both Harry and Neville were excited to open up their gifts. Harry had sent fancy chocolate to his house prefects and all his yearmates. To the Slytherin first-years he also sent Slytherin scarves personalized with their initials and enchanted to always be warm and dry. Instead of giving Neville something small, Harry had joined forces with Neville's cousins to get him bonsai tree to keep in his dorm. To Jackie, Harry had given the usual certificate to a muggle spa and to Augusta he gave a container of her favourite tea blend.

Harry himself had not received any gifts from the prefects (he wasn't expecting any) and those of his non-Slytherin yearmates who had thought to send him gifts had given him sweets, except for Hermione who had sent him a Quidditch book. Blaise had sent him Italian sweets, Lancel had sent him a personalized journal enchanted to never run out of paper, Theo had a given him a book written by a distant Potter ancestor (he had accompanied Marco Polo on his travels in Asia), and Draco had sent him a football sized gobstone - the boy did not know the meaning of subtle. Vincent and Gregory had sent a joint card claiming that their gift to their roommates would be having their sinuses fixed so they wouldn't snore as much any more. Neville and Augusta had given Harry an album full of pictures that Alice Longbottom had kept from her Hogwarts days when she roomed with Lily Potter. Jackie had given Harry a wand care kit and summer Quidditch tickets.

Other than homework and spending time with Neville, Harry also spent time with Jackie trying to understand current society and politics. He did not understand why a house that prized ambition would be against those who had the furthest to rise in magical society, those who did not have family connections to rely on. He also didn't understand the logic behind not accepting muggleborns into Hogwarts. Talking to Jackie helped him understand some things better.

"Don't they understand that leaving magical children in the muggle world would risk the Statute?" He asked her during one of their afternoons together.

"Of course they do." Seeing his confused look, she quirked her lips. "They want it to fail."

"So they can rule over the muggles?" He asked.

"Some, but mostly no. Many of the richest magical families made their fortunes before Secrecy. There was a huge market for magic and magical items and they were paid very well to heal, ward, protect, curse, etc. They want to go back to that, sooner rather than later, and they're getting desperate."

"Because their money is running out?" Harry guessed.

"Some of them, but also because after Secrecy came into effect, science really took off. The industrial revolution and now the computer age means that muggles are being able to do many of the same things that magicals can but with science. In a few more decades, muggles will have no need for magical healing or wards, which means the market for magic will be smaller."

"So… they won't make as much money?" Harry tried to follow her explanation.

"Exactly."

"That's a horrible reason to fight wars!" Harry exclaimed. His parents had basically died because someone wanted to run a business.

"Well, there is also those who are worried about the environment. A lot of muggle industry is very dirty which is harming the environment. Eventually, muggles will develop cleaner technology, but by then it could be too late and many parts of the world would be too damaged for things to live in." Jackie, as a lawyer, wanted Harry to always consider all sides of an issue, if only to be able to argue against them.

"Is that really true?" Harry had heard about animals dying out, but it was the 90's and global warming was not being taken seriously by the general public.

"Yes. Magical habitats are protected against pollution, but the rest of the world isn't. We're lucky in England, there are countries that are a lot worse than us." Jackie gave Harry a stern look. "This in no way justifies breaking Secrecy; non-magical society has the right to develop its own power independent of magic without having magic always there as a crutch. If magicals really were only worried about the environment, they could have educated squibs and then funded their research into cleaner energy. Violence and imposing your will on others is never the right answer."

Harry nodded and then allowed Jackie to change the topic to a new treaty Fudge was trying to get Magical Belgium to sign.

* * *

Harry had continued to read through his mother's diary and wanted to finish before returning to Hogwarts. Lily had just graduated and was talking excitedly about her wedding plans to James whilst also being very worried about the war. Entries became more sporadic; she wrote about learning she was pregnant and making an appointment with a solicitor and then, in the next entry, she was watching him sleep while worrying about something Albus had told her. It was the last entry though that had the most impact on Harry.

Sirius Black was not the Potter's secret keeper.


	14. Chapter 14

AN: I meant to include this in the last chapter.

 **Important School Dates, 1991-1992**

Sunday, Sept 1 - Hogwarts Express Trip

Monday, Sept 2 - First day of classes

Monday, Sep 9 - Magical Theory, Arts Electives and Flying begin

Friday, Dec 20 - Last day of classes before winter break (Yule Dec 22, Christmas Dec 25)

Monday, January 6 - First day of classes, Term 2

April 12-17 - Easter holiday

Tuesday, April 21 - Return to classes

Friday, May 15 - Last Day of classes before exam period

May 17-22 - Regular exam period

May 17-29 - OWL exam period

June 1-12 - NEWT exam period

June 14 - Train ride home

* * *

"Harry, a diary entry is not enough to overturn Black's sentence." Jackie gave Harry a concerned look - she did not want him to get his hopes up.

Harry, who had been vibrating with excitement since he'd run into her office ten minutes ago, refused to accept her warning. "He never got sentenced because he never had a trial, we both know that; you told me years ago!"

"He did get sentenced, it was just automatically done without a trial… which gives us the opportunity to push for a trial, and I am going to do that, but don't think this will be easy or even possible. I'll just do my best." Jackie went back to studying the last diary entry that was causing all this ruckus.

"But you will try, and then maybe he'll get released and I'll get to meet him-" Harry was already imagining all the fun he'd have spending time with the laughing, rebellious young man his mom was so exasperated with.

"Not until he's been cleared by the mind healers." Jackie interrupted him sternly. Sighing, she put the diary aside and looked at Harry. "I will look around, see what I can do - criminal law is not my area and I don't know how it differs in the magical world. In the meantime, you will keep quiet and not tell anyone - I don't want public opinion complicating things." After waiting for Harry to agree to her demands, she huffed. "Good, now scram; I have work to do."

Harry left for Hogwarts the next day which opened up Jackie's schedule significantly. She began building Black's case by researching his background - she wanted to gather any allies she may have.

Sirius Black was the older and only surviving son of Walburga and Orion Black, both deceased, and the grandson of Arcturus Black, who had died just a few months previously. This was very unfortunate as Jackie had hoped that he had surviving relatives who would have an interest in him being freed. He did have cousins, but Bellatrix Lestrange shared his current accommodations while Andromeda Tonks had been disinherited from the family, reducing her political pull. Narcissa Malfoy was free and well positioned, but a bit more research showed that she had fully expected her son to inherit the Black assets after Arcturus' death and had been very put out when she realized that Sirius was still in line to inherit. Mrs. Malfoy had ample motive to keep Black in Azkaban and without any chance of fathering heirs.

Thankfully, Jackie did have Ministry connections that she could use to improve Black's chances. One of them was Dirk Cresswell, a fellow muggleborn and one of her clients. Through him, she had been able to schedule an informal lunch meeting with Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, on January 13. Madame Bones was known for her adherence to the law and for being incorruptible, and Jackie hoped that she would be a strong ally in getting Black a fair trial.

"Madame Bones, thank you for taking the time to meet with me." Jackie stood up as Amelia reached her table at the Golden Cauldron, a restaurant in Diagon Alley often used for business lunches.

"Amelia, please, if I may call you Jackie. Dirk says great things about you and assured me you don't like wasting people's time." Amelia said as she and Jackie shook hands before sitting down.

"He's absolutely right, I don't. If you don't mind?" At Amelia's nod, Jackie went ahead and activated the built-in privacy charms at their table. "So, to get right into business then. Before their deaths, the Potters gave me power of attorney over their son. This includes the authority to collect all their belongings and store them in his trust vault."

Amelia nodded with a slight smile. "Yes, I remember several people at the Ministry were very put out when they weren't able to appropriate everything and set up a memorial for the Potters. As if the public had more rights to their personal items than their son." Amelia shook her head over the audacity of some people.

"Well, recently, Harry was given access to his trust vault and retrieved some of those personal items, including Lily Potter's diary." Jackie leaned forward slightly and emphasized the next part. "In her diary, Lily claims that Sirius Black was not the Potters' secret keeper." Then she sat back and waited for Amelia to digest this piece of information.

Amelia, the intelligent witch that she was, immediately understood the implications of this. "He never received a trial, but was convicted based on evidence provided by no less person that Albus Dumbledore himself that Sirius Black was the secret keeper." Amelia slowly shook her head. "You're going to have a hard time with this. Fudge was one of the first Ministry employees on the scene of Black's murder of Pettigrew-"

"That's another thing - Lily claims Pettigrew was the secret keeper; Black was kept as a decoy."

"Twelve muggles, Jackie, that is a proven conviction." Amelia pointed out. Seeing Jackie's set face, she sighed. "What do you want?"

"I want to see him. You and me, we interview him ourselves, find out what really happened. He was facing a traitor, potentially a Death Eater," Jackie continued talking even after Amelia started shaking her head. "We don't actually know who blew up those muggles. Black was a known bloodtraitor, he loved muggle culture and rubbed it in his family's face every chance he got. I find it hard to believe that he would betray the Potters and join You-Know-Who, and now there is proof."

"You don't just visit Azkaban, the Dementor presence alone makes it a health risk. And as soon as this gets out, as soon as we start looking into his case, there will be a lot of opposition from Fudge and anyone else who had a hand in putting him away - they will refuse to believe that they put an innocent man behind bars, they don't want to believe it. It could ruin the careers of a lot of powerful politicians."

"That is no excuse to not investigate. Ignorance will not make you, me, and everyone else any less guilty of Black's suffering." Jackie pushed forward again and changed tactics. "Harry wants this, he's the one who brought the diary to my attention. He wants to know, to be sure, that those responsible for his parents' fate are being punished."

"The fallout from this-"

"He already published his parents' school notes; he'd be willing to publish his mother's diary and let public opinion do the work for him." Jackie looked Amelia straight in the eyes. "He wants to know."

* * *

The boat ride to Azkaban was very uncomfortable, but it was significantly more comfortable than actually being on Azkaban Island. The anti-aparration and anti-portkey wards covered a ten-kilometer area, with the island at the center, ensuring that the only way to access the island was by sea or by air, and the Dementors guarded against both. As Jackie was helped off the boat by one of the two aurors accompanying herself and Amelia, she thought about how much Harry owed her for putting up with this. Or perhaps it was Sirius Black who owed her - she was here for his benefit after all.

It had taken Amelia a few weeks to arrange a visit to Azkaban - few humans were allowed to visit due to the difficulty of controlling the Dementors and keeping them from feeding on the visitors. It was the second week of February and the cold was not helping Jackie fight the Dementors' effects. Thankfully, she had taken Amelia's advice and brought a lot of chocolate with her.

Eventually, Amelia, Jackie, and their auror escort made their way into Azkaban proper and then through the maze of hallways to Sirius Black's cell. It seemed that he had heard them coming because he was standing up at the bars, ready to greet them.

"Amelia, this is a surprise." For a wizard who had spent ten years locked up with Dementors, Black was surprisingly aware and rational. He did not look it, though; his skin was hanging off his bones, his back hunched, skin, hair, and teeth all showing signs of his stay. His eyes though, they were bright. Buried in his face and surrounded by raccoon worthy circles, his eyes showed lucidity and a will to live.

"Sirius, I'm afraid this is not a social visit." Amelia and Sirius Black obviously knew each other - he must have served under her command in his days as an auror.

Jackie, wanting to leave this demonic island as soon as possible, pushed her way into their conversation. "I apologize, but can we get to the reason for our visit?" When the other two nodded, Amelia with a blank look on her face, Sirius with lifted eyebrows and a smirk. "Lily Potter's diary had recently been uncovered, and it contained new information regarding the events surrounding the Potters' death. Could you tell us your version of events?"

A rusty, painful sounding laugh came out of Black's throat - it was not a happy sound. "So you all finally decided to ask me for the truth?" The bitterness in the question came across loud and clear, causing Amelia to flinch though she tried to hide it.

"Mr. Black, while you are justifiable bitter regarding the sequence of events that led you here, please understand that I. Do not. Care." Jackie looked the sad man in the eyes and took a more aggressive stance. "I am here on behalf of Harry Potter, and he wishes to know what led to his parents' demise. You can yell out your bitterness and hatred of the world on your own time, but this is possibly the only chance you will have to be free. Speak now, complain later."

Harry's name seemed to do the trick as Black immediately calmed down and looked somewhat guilty. "It was my fault." He repeated the phrase that had landed him in Azkaban in the first place. "I suggested that Lily and James," his voice broke over their names but he swallowed and continued. "I suggested they switch secret keepers, switch to Peter," He spit out that name before continuing. "I was too obvious, everyone would be after, so I thought it would be clever to set me up as a decoy and use Peter instead. I didn't know that he had already betrayed us, that the cowardly son of a rat would sell little Harry out like that. But he did, he did, and when I realized what he had done, and Hagrid showed up to take Harry, I went after him. And he got the better of me, little Peter played a trick on me!" Black was laughing bitterly even as tears leaked out of his eyes.

"You killed him, and twelve muggles-" Amelia began but Black shook his head while still laughing.

Once he calmed down, he explained. "Peter was an animagus, a rat animagus. He blew up the street, cut off his finger, and shifted before running into the sewers to hide." Seeing their disbelieving stares, he huffed. "Here, look." Black hunched down and was suddenly replaced by a large black dog, which then shifted back to Black. "We all were, James, Peter, and I. Peter is still alive."

* * *

"Well, that was… enlightening." Amelia murmured on the boat trip back to the mainland. By her authority, Amelia had ordered Black to be moved to one of the rooms that the dementors were not allowed to enter. These were used to house visitors and so were cleaner and with some amenities like beds and woking showers. The effect of so many Dementors would still be felt, but between lack of direct contact and being an animagus, Black would have a better time there.

"Yes, it was." Jackie kept her eyes on Amelia. "What are we going to do?"

Amelia sighed before squaring her shoulders. "Well, to begin with, I'll be talking to my own contacts, people I trust who care about doing what's right. Once we have enough people within the Ministry itself supporting Black's release, or at least holding a trial for him, then we will be in a better position to see justice done."

Jackie nodded, but then eyed the two aurors who had accompanied Amelia. Amelia noticing this, smiled grimly. "Don't worry, these two are very trustworthy. Shacklebolt was a friend of James and Williamson is my second cousin."

"Excellent. Do you know of anyone who would benefit from Fudge or Crouch being embarrassed?"

Amelia chuckled, as did the two aurors. "Some would benefit, many would be entertained. Yes, I see your point. There are some people who would love to see Fudge lose popularity, it opens up more potential allies for us. Let me deal with this, give me a month."

"Of course, I leave things in your capable hands, Madame." Jackie smiled. Honestly, the less she had to do, the better - she still had her muggle practice to keep up with let alone her other magical clients. Over the years, as a result of the new (magical) clients she had attracted to the firm she worked for, Jackie had been made a partner, which gave her a lot more leeway in her schedule. She still had a lot of work to do though, more than before, and due to caring for Harry and his various hijinks, her work day now extended well past sunset some days. Hopefully, if Black is freed, he will take over some of Harry's care, especially as Harry's reaching the age where he'd need a male role model.

* * *

Harry meanwhile, was finding Hogwarts more eventful by the month. First, it was Hagrid getting in trouble with the Ministry for having an illegal dragon egg. Fortunately for Hagrid, Ron had noticed the egg during his monthly detention and had told Hermione. Hermione, who had more sense than Hagrid, immediately informed Professor Kettleburn, who had been able to talk Hagrid into registering the egg with the Ministry before it hatched. According to Neville, they had simply claimed that Hagrid had found the egg in the Forbidden Forest and so he was able to avoid trouble, especially as he willingly (more or less) handed the newborn dragon off to the nearest dragon preserve.

Harry was very sure that dragon eggs did not grow on trees, or that they could survive unharmed in the cold, but since no one wanted Hagrid in trouble (the half-giant was the very definition of lovable doofus) Harry decided to let sleeping dragons lie.

Then, later on in the term, Hagrid had had the bright idea to hold a detention in the Forbidden Forest. Cue unicorn targeting vampire - for weeks after that story spread students would carry cloves of garlic everywhere with them. This had the unforeseen benefit of decreasing the amorous instincts of the upper years.

This was to say nothing of all the near accidents Harry kept having. He'd tripped, slipped, and turned his ankle on every stairway in Hogwarts. It got to the point where his housemates became convinced that he'd had an ill-luck curse placed on him. Neville had owl-ordered him a low-level good-luck amulet (which did help a little) while Theo and Blaise began practicing cushioning charms, just in case.

Harry did not allow any of this to distract him from sending letters to Jackie asking for updates on Black's case. The more time passed, and the less information Jackie gave him, the more impatient he became for results.

"Harry." Theo's words interrupted Harry while he was writing his latest letter to Jackie.

"Yes?" Harry continued writing.

"What are you doing?"

"Writing a letter," Harry said slowly as he finally put his quill down and gave Theo his full attention. He immediately noticed that it was not just Theo he was talking to - all his roommates were sending him concerned looks (which for Draco was very odd - he was usually too self-involved to notice other people's discomfort unless he caused it). Being nearly ten on a Wednesday night it was expected for all the first year boys to be in the dorm. What was unusual was them all gathered near his desk - usually they were doing their own things or getting ready for bed by now.

"No, Harry." Theo gave him a worried look. "What are you doing? You've been bothered about something all term, not focusing the way you did before. Something big is going on, and it involves whoever you're constantly writing to. What are you doing?"

"I've been focused!" Harry argued, but the other boys just shook their heads or gave him 'are you kidding me?' looks.

Blaise decided to take a turn speaking. "No, Harry, you haven't. Usually, whenever we start a new topic in class, you do a lot of extra research in the library, practice related spells we don't cover in class, or figure out alternate uses for the spells that are covered. You also haven't been as engaged in our discussions - Neville even said that you haven't been as hard on Granger as you usually are. The professors may not notice a difference, but we do."

"We're your friends, we're worried about you," Gregory said, much to Harry's surprise.

Harry still did not feel comfortable labeling anyone at Hogwarts other than Neville as a friend, but thinking about it, he realized maybe he should begin to. He'd spent most of his time for the past few months with these people, and they not only knew him well but they were also willing to put up with him. They were Slytherins like he was, and though there was no Slytherin mold for every one of them to fit into, there was a reason they were all sorted into the same house. They saw the world the way he did and were able to understand him in a way Neville couldn't.

Putting all that aside for later, Harry fully turned around in his chair. "I was able to get a hold of my mum's diary and I've been reading it. A lot of things… they don't make sense. Like, my parents had a lot of friends, but growing up, none of those friends sent me letters or checked up on me." Harry took a deep breath but didn't continue. All that was the truth, though it was an old truth that he'd been holding onto for many years. Jackie had been all he had, every other magical connection to his parents had completely broken with their death. He hadn't been enough to keep those connections alive.

Draco's huff broke through his pessimistic train of thought. "Of course they didn't, you were hidden away. You don't understand," Draco emphasized when Harry made an annoyed noise. "You were gone - not even the Ministry knew where you were. A lot of people looked, but there was no trace of you. We still don't know where you live during the summers."

"We couldn't even send letters," Blaise added. "Growing up, you were this mythical hero and some children would try sending you letters, but they all just returned, unopened."

Harry was very confused. "But my Hogwarts letter arrived just fine."

Blaise just shrugged. "Owls need an address to deliver letters. If you know someone well enough, smarter owls can still deliver letters with just a first and last name, but those are rare and your parents weren't exactly showing you off in the middle of a war."

"How are owls trained anyway?" Harry wondered, much to his roommates' exasperated relief - Harry was known to go off on tangents when the academic bug bit him.

"That can be your next research project," Lancel said with a grin as the others went back to getting ready for bed.

Harry smiled as he turned back to his letter. After staring at it for a moment, he crumpled it up and threw it into the wastebasket. His _friends_ were right, this was taking up too much of his headspace. He trusted Jackie to take care of things, and there was nothing he could do other than give her room to get actual work done. It was time he turned his attention to more productive activities, like breaking Hermione's more annoying habits.

* * *

AN: I wanted to point out that just because I don't write about Jackie's personal life doesn't mean she doesn't have one - she's just very careful about protecting Harry's privacy and keeping him from being impacted by her personal choices. She's already making Harry's case way too personal as a solicitor, he doesn't need to meet her family or significant other. This is part of why Harry is not used to sharing the prominant people in his life.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Sorry for the hiatus. Big shifts from canon coming over the next few chapters.

* * *

It was halfway through March before Jackie heard from Amelia again, and that was a short message with a date for Black's trial, set for April 14; Amelia knew that Harry would be on holiday and she thought having him there would make it less likely for people to discount Lily's words.

Jackie had already done some research on how criminal trials were run in the magical world, but she did even more in preparation for representing Black. She also kept a log of her hours - Black would be paying through the nose for her effort.

She prepared by contacting certain people she thought would be helpful for her case. She first went to Augusta, who after reading the diary entry and hearing what Black had told them, was willing to help. Primarily, she would be hosting Harry during the Easter break, but she also offered to introduce Jackie to Andromeda Tonks. Jackie had not wanted Harry to go back to being obsessed with Black, so she only wrote to say that she was expecting him to accept Augusta's invitation. Blaise Zabini's birthday party, to be held on April 13th, would be a good excuse for him to see a tailor for new robes.

Her meeting with Andromeda Tonks went very well, though she had not expected to recognize her husband. She had been invited to take tea at their house and had apparated just outside the property before making her way to the door.

"You're Ted Tonks!" Jackie exclaimed as soon as she got a good look at the wizard. He had been the one to greet Jackie at the door while his wife was getting the tea tray ready.

"Yes," Ted said with a large grin. "I am. I work in muggle media as a way to keep an eye out for any potential leaks of the Statute. Fun work if you can get it!"

"I don't even know how you manage to keep that job, you can't keep a straight face to save your life!" His wife complained with a smile while Ted gestured Jackie in. Andromeda Tonks was a beautiful witch who had been a dueling champion in her day. Her marriage to a muggleborn wizard had led to her being thrown out of the Black family but she didn't seem to mind - it was obvious that she was very happy with her husband and, as the meeting went on, very proud of her only child.

After a bit more small talk, Jackie was able to shift the topic to Sirius Black. "I was a bit surprised to hear of what happened to him - he never seemed the type."

"He wasn't," Andromeda said somberly. "Neither he nor Regulus were the type to enjoy mindless cruelty. He liked playing tricks as a boy and had a few enemies he treated viciously, but he didn't have it in him to torture muggles out of some pureblood pride. Regulus was pushed into it by the rest of the family and he had always been a meek boy, but Sirius… I can't think of a good reason for him to join the Death Eaters, especially if it endangered James Potter. He loved the Potters more than he loved his own family." Ted reached over and sideways hugged his wife as she shook her head in morose confusion over past events.

Jackie smiled and leaned forward. "What if I told you he didn't?"

The Tonkses just looked at her blankly.

"Due to new evidence being uncovered, he will be receiving a trial in mid-April. I was hoping you would be willing to provide character witness for him."

"Of course, anything!" Andromeda agreed immediately. The rest of their meeting went very well and Jackie left not only with a character witness for Black but also a new client for herself in the form of Ted Tonks.

Andromeda Tonks was not the only one Jackie called on; Remus Lupin was willing to bear witness that Peter Pettigrew was an animagus and several muggleborns from Black's school days were willing to speak about their past non-discriminatory interactions with him. Jackie was also able to call on anyone who would already be in the courtroom for questioning, including Barty Crouch Sr. and Dumbledore.

* * *

Harry joined his Slytherin housemates in marking the spring equinox. They did this by finding areas in their life that were out of balance and addressing them. For most Slytherins (but not all) this had to do with focusing less on themselves and more on others. Thus, March 20 saw a near army of green-robed students offering tutoring and extra help as a way of addressing their lack of community service so far that year. This annual practice was very much appreciated as professors tended to give exams before the Easter break and students were always looking for extra help in the weeks leading up to it.

Ravenclaws were the most intellectual of the four houses, but Slytherins have long perfected the art of studying smart rather than studying hard. Their class notes were full of markings and comments that pointed to facts and topics that professors had emphasized and could, therefore, be expected to show up in exams. They also developed potential exam questions as a form of studying, utilized previous years' materials, and focused more on strategic exam skills rather than just outright memorization of material. Needless to say, the Easter exams tended to have the highest averages of the year, largely due to Slytherins sharing their study smart skills with the rest of the school.

The muggle footballs that were being used by the HFL disintegrated beyond the help of a reparo the first week of April, but the older years had been hard at work all term to produce an alternative. They had taken the football-sized gobstone Draco had gifted Harry and had found a way to add a permanent but weak cushioning charm (so they wouldn't break their bones trying to kick it) to it without it interacting with the rest of its spell work in a way that made it explode. It worked well, though the players were not used to being squirted randomly as they tried running punting the ball around. The issue was that the muddied field made playing a game more dangerous as players were more prone to slipping. The ball would also sometimes squirt a goalie in the face just as they caught it, leading them to drop the ball and potentially scoring against their own team. That will take a while to get used to, but it did increase interest from the rest of the school - they came by to laugh at them.

Harry was actually looking forward to the Easter break - Hogwarts was fun, but it would be interesting to see other wizarding homes. Blaise hadn't had a muggleborn marry into his family since before the Statute which meant that it had very little muggle influence. Other than that, Harry and Neville will probably spend the Easter break the way they did Christmas break - doing school work, gardening, and flying. As Harry finished writing his last exam (DADA) he was very confident in his work. His exam results for the first term had been excellent, though he had not placed first in any of his classes. Neville was top of their year in Herbology, Susan Bones in History, Hermione in Transfiguration, Daphne in Potions, Padma Patil in charms, and Justin in Astronomy (his parents met through their membership in the Royal Astronomical Society). The other classes were either pass/fail (Flying) or they provided qualitative feedback (Arts). However, he was first overall in his year due to being in the top of five of all his graded courses. In his opinion, being top overall was better since it meant that he excelled in all his classes rather than being a prodigy in one… though if flying was a graded subject…

The train was leaving at eleven on Saturday so Harry took the afternoon to pack what he wanted to take with him - mostly clothes that he'd outgrown and needed to alter or replace, his violin, homework and what he needed to finish it, and a few changes of clothes. On Sunday he would be going into Diagon Alley to be fitted for new robes for Blaise's party as well as picking up his present. He had no plans, other than the birthday party, to see any classmates other than Neville mostly because he needed a break from them after spending months living in each others' pockets.

Blaise, for all his poise and sophistication (compared to other eleven-year-old boys), had the curiosity of a cat - he did his best to interrogate, annoy, and cajole his roommates into revealing what they had bought him for his birthday. Harry, who hadn't bought him anything yet, was happy to smirk mysteriously and say "Nothing."

As soon as Harry and Neville arrived at the manor, they washed up and changed and then had an early supper with Augusta. They then spent the evening work on their homework. Harry only had essays for Potions, Herbology, Charms, and DADA to do as his other work was given early enough in the week that he'd managed to complete before leaving Hogwarts. The Charms essay was on locking and unlocking charms and would prepare them for learning the basic unlocking spell alohomora after the break. Herbology, which Neville had finished from memory, was on the effect of soil composition - Harry kept chuckling about his literal dragon dung essay. DADA was on the theory behind basic shield charms - they'd yet to learn any actual spells in that course and have been spending most lectures being educated on how running away would solve various problems in their life. Potions' was the worst essay - they didn't even bother to look at it - and it was three feet on proper ingredient storage. Harry did manage, with Neville's help, to finish the Herbology paper. In return, he helped Neville with his Transfiguration homework which Harry had received earlier and so finished.

Sunday was spent in shopping misery as far as Harry was concerned. He spent an hour being poked and prodded while Jackie kept harping on about color and material and style and many other things that Harry just did not care about. In the end, he left with two formal ensembles - an emerald, ankle-length silk robe with a gold sleeveless over-robe in a see-through material, and a silver-trimmed black ensemble that looked like an imperial Russian military uniform with a calf-length stiff robe that allowed for his dragon-boots to show. He knew this because when he got home, stared at them for a bit and tried to figure out why they were worth an hour of his time.

Blaise's present ended up being a tapestry of a troupe of musicians, two of whom played the mandolin. The Zabini's were known for being art lovers so Harry figured that Blaise would appreciate it… He had also grown tired of shopping and just bought the first thing that looked like something that Blaise might like.

Blaise's party itself was interesting due to the presence of his many ex-step-siblings and cousins who were for the most part foreign. Harry had a great time learning about other magic schools as well as the homeschooling options provided by some ministries. As a finale, all the musically inclined guests got together and performed for Blaise. It was not the best sounding symphony, but a lot of fun as strangers tried to stay in harmony with each other.

"Black's trial will be held this Tuesday at ten in the morning," Jackie had waited until Harry had come back from Blaise's party to let know about the trial. Seeing the outraged look on his face, she hurried to justify her decision. "I didn't want you to stress over this - you have very little to do. I would like for you to attend, but you can choose not to, and you won't speak up or be asked to be a witness. As a minor who has never held a conversation with the man, your words carry very little in this case."

"But I would have liked to know! Is this why I had to get a second robe?" Harry was very put out - he was used to being aware of what was going on and didn't like being out of the loop.

Harry and Jackie were drinking tea in Harry's guest room at the Manor which had a small seating area that they often used to have their talks while Harry was visiting Neville.

"You have tomorrow to worry, though I think the day would be better spent doing your homework. That way, you'll have the rest of the break free to meet with Black if you want to." Jack took a sip of her tea and tried to appear as unruffled as possible - she knew she was implying that Black would win his freedom, but due to the politics of the case, it was risky to do so. If Black was sent back to Azkaban, Harry would not only be devastated by the loss of a potential father-figure, but also would lose trust in the magical courts.

Harry was starting to get excited about the whole thing - Sirius Black sounded like a lot of fun and he had helped his father invent pranking material. He couldn't wait to meet him!

* * *

In the end, the trial went smoothly thanks to the coalition that Jackie and Amelia had built. The evidence was clearly in Black's favor (most of the evidence against him was circumstantial and hearsay) and Harry's presence embarrassed most into not accepting bribes from former Death Eaters. Fudge tried to stop the proceedings several times but others like Scrimgeour were more than happy to take advantage of the opportunity to throw him under the bus so to speak.

Harry wasn't allowed to actually see Black - no one was. His time in Azkaban had taken its toll and the healers from St. Mungos were quick to enroll him into an intense healing program that worked to improve his mental health while reversing the physical toll Azkaban had taken. Black's physical ailments were not the results of magic and so were fully capable of being healed. Unfortunately, his mind had taken damage from Dementor exposure which could not be fully reversed - Black would have to slowly come to terms with the damage himself and work to improve.

As Harry was packing up to go back to Hogwarts Sunday night, he couldn't help but feel very frustrated. He hadn't been allowed to see his godfather or even send him a letter (Black kept being confused about the date and they didn't want him to be shocked by Harry's age), his parents' real betrayer was out there somewhere, and yet he was expected to concentrate on school and let adults worry about things! More like, worry about what other mistakes they'd made! To top it off, when he got back to school, everyone one will be questioning him about what happened and Draco will most likely be prissy about losing out on an inheritance. The only good news was that the healers were reasonably sure that Sirius Black would be ready for visitors by that summer so Harry could get to know him then. In the meantime, he still had Remus, who as a friend to both his parents and to Black, was a great source of information regarding both.

* * *

Remus Lupin had always considered himself to be unlucky - being bitten by a werewolf at the age of four tended to stifle any optimism a person may have. His seven years at Hogwarts were wonderful, his parents had loved and cared for him, but most of his adult life had been hell. He hadn't been able to keep a steady job for more than six months, was forced to rent isolated, rundown cottages in order to keep away from other humans during the full moon, and was usually barely able to scrounge up enough coin to keep from starving.

Recently, however, things had started to look up. First, he'd been contacted to edit the Potter Notes (he had cried at times from all the happy memories those brought back) and not only had he been paid in advance, but the study guide sold well enough for him to save up a nice little nest egg for a rainy day. It had also allowed him to enter the editing career - he had since received other offers to edit manuscripts. This was wonderful since he could work from home and make his own schedule - there was no one expecting him to show up the days surrounding the full moon. He was now able to afford a better diet, a nice set of robes for meeting clients, and he was saving up to buy his own isolated cottage in the future.

Additionally, he had been able to reconnect to Harry! It was slow at the start, and mostly he would share stories about Lily and James, but their letters back and forth had developed into Remus giving Harry advice about school, friends, and teaching him about aspects of the magical world he hadn't known about - like the rampant discrimination against 'creatures'.

Now, as he read the Daily Prophet, he didn't know whether to feel ecstatic or guilty. He had thought that Sirius was a traitor, had spent ten years trying to hate him, only to find out that he was innocent. He had gotten his friend back, but only if that friend was willing to forgive him, which with his luck wasn't very likely.

At least Sirius was freed and being treated, and Remus still had Harry to write to.

* * *

Severus Snape could feel the bile rising up his throat to choke him. They were idiotic enough to let that rabid dog out of his cage, and even celebrated the act! Black had been capable of murder at fifteen, did no one realize he deserved to be in Azkaban? McGonagall had started crying over her breakfast when the news came out, and the other dunderheads had looked in similar states. Dumbledore had looked ashamed, but only because he had contributed to getting Black imprisoned in the first place! As if that was something to be ashamed of! Dumbledore had been at the trial, he could have kept Black away, but no, not his precious Gryffindor!

Severus threw the offending newspaper into his private fireplace and fell into his armchair.

Damn Black! Ooh, how did he do it? How did he always manage to avoid his just punishment?

A hate-filled snarl twisted Severus's face. It was all the Potter brats fault! He used Lily's own words to set that monster loose on society! Well, he'll show him! Potter will learn a lesson his father should have learned a long time ago - Princes were not to be trifled with!

* * *

AN: I skipped the court scene because it has been done by so many different authors (including yours truly in another story) that I couldn't find a way to make it fresh. There is no canon basis for Ted Tonks being the news person but there isn't anything that says otherwise either I don't think.


	16. Chapter 16

AN: I'm sorry this is late, and this chapter is actually horrible. Feel free to suggest improvements or to criticize.

* * *

"Ugh, we'll have to charm this again next year," Luke, one of the upper year HFL members, groaned as he put the 'football' away.

Harry, who'd been walking behind him, grinned. "It's been permanently charmed, remember?"

Luke shook his head. "Permanent charms aren't actually permanent, it just means that they don't need a wand to be active." Seeing Harry's confusion, Luke tried to explain further. "Wingardium Leviosa needs a wizard to keep powering it - as soon as they lower their wand, the charm stops working. A permanent hovering charm, on the other hand, will last for some time before failing. I think the world record for longest permanent charm was eighteen years - a witch charmed her husband's hands to turn bright red if they came near firewhiskey. Enchantment, which isn't touched on until NEWT level, is the art of eternally charming something and it requires runes."

"What about transfiguration?"

"I don't think you can do eternal transfiguration… I do know it's very hard to make transfigurations last for more than a week - they give you a Mastery for that." With a quick wave goodbye Luke left with a couple of his friends.

Harry, however, had a new worry to keep track of. Most of what he knew about magic could be neatly categorized into the first or second-year curriculum of his current Hogwarts classes. He also had some knowledge of magical creatures, but nothing really in depth. He'd tried reading through his parents' notes, but after year two the theory got so over his head he'd been forced to give up. However, he knew that in year three he would have to choose elective courses, and based on what Luke was saying, at the NEWT level the classes start to overlap and not choosing the appropriate elective could hold him back. He needed to get a list of all the seminars, electives, and extracurriculars offered at Hogwarts at each year level before the end of his second year so he could plan his Hogwarts career. Since chances were good that he'll forget to do so, he needed to send a note to Jackie to ask her to remind him. She'll hate him for it, but she could probably just add it to her calendar or something.

Since coming back after Easter break Harry had been kept busy by all his commitments. He was keeping up with school work and had managed to continue his streak of doing homework as soon as he got it - it really helped having a whole house that encouraged this. Unlike what Neville had to deal with in Gryffindor, Slytherin (as well as Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw) had nearly mandatory study sessions and the prefects did spot checks to make sure everyone was on top of their work. The worst performers in Harry's year were Vincent and Gregory - Vincent would routinely get into trouble for handing in lackluster work. Gregory did well on his homework assignments, but since it took him longer to learn new spells and understand theory, he had a hard time in class. Both had been reprimanded several times that year for getting too many A's, though Gregory got off lighter due to it being obvious that he was doing his best.

Harry also had his Potions study sessions with Neville, Millicent and Hermione as well as the quizzing game to help him keep his marks up. HFL was going well and allowed Harry a much needed physical release after all the hours spent sitting in front of books, and charms club, which was Tuesday and Thursday evenings, had been very interesting so far. Usually Flitwick taught them fun or useful charms that were not part of the curriculum, like a charm for dusting and one for tying your shoelaces into an elaborate sailor's knot. Harry had also made time to write to Jackie, Dudley, Remus, and Sirius. Sirius's letters were mostly about how he was doing and what was going on in the Wizarding World according to the Prophet (Newt Scamander finally had a grandchild named after him - Newtonia Scammander). Sirius hadn't brought up his sorting and neither had Harry - Remus had been careful to ask him to give Sirius time to recover from his ordeal. Apparently, due to family issues, Sirius was somewhat anti-Slytherin. Spending a decade surrounded by insane Death Eaters had not helped any.

Harry's only real problem was Potions, specifically Snape, who had been even worse than usual. He'd gone back to his habit of interrogating Harry and taking points off for cheekiness, as well as the snide comments over his brewing process. He'd also been marking Harry down, giving him A's and E's for work that, in Harry's humble opinion, deserved an O. It's only been a month (so four potions classes) but Harry was already getting fed up with this treatment. The next Potions class was the last of the year and it was a review period in preparation for exams - they would have a short question and answer session before brewing a simple base that can be used as the starting solution for a variety of potions.

That Friday, Harry had been caught up in a conversation with Juniper Lang, a Ravenclaw fourth year he'd met in HFL and who'd been helping him study for Astronomy. As such, he had to run to catch up to Neville and the others, arriving to the classroom barely seconds before the starting bell rang. Snape immediately began his usual vitriol.

"It seems Mr. Potter has finally decided to grace us with his presence. Ten points from Gryffindor; celebrity status does not give you the right to hold your classmates back!"

Harry, and everyone else, looked supremely confused. "But… I'm in Slytherin?"

Snape, however, seemed to be in his own world and ignored their confusion. He began firing questions at the class - Gryffindors, even though they got most answers right rather than wrong, lost an additional forty points due to cheek, being know-it-alls, and whispering answers to each other (which they hadn't). Eventually, he ordered them to begin brewing, only to stand over Harry's shoulder and begin the usual round of venom.

"POTTER! This is a simple solution, you should be able to complete it in the given time. At your slow pace, your customers will die of old age before ever receiving their product." Snape barked just as Harry was slashing down on a root. Harry, reacting to the sudden shout, missed the root and instead sliced through his finger.

Neville, seeing this, immediately brought out his wand to bandage him only to have Snape stop him.

"No wands in this class, Longbottom! Minus ten points!"

"But Harry's hand-"

"He'll live - it's just a scratch." Snape's glee could clearly be heard in his words.

Theo, who had been brewing in the desk in front of Harry, decided to intervene. He'd turned around at Harry's shout of pain and he could see that the top of Harry's finger was on the cutting board while the rest of his hand was cradled to his chest. Harry himself seemed to be in shock, his face very pale and his eyes tearing, but not making any actual noise. Taking out his own wand, Theo bandaged Harry's hand and went around his bench to take Harry's arm. "I'll take him to Madame Pomfrey, Blaise can you-?"

Blaise, who'd been brewing beside Theo, was already packing up Theo's things and cleaning his area. "Already on it, you go ahead."

"NOTT! What do you think you're doing?!" Snape was aghast at not only being ignored by the Slytherin first years, but having all of them be packing up their things. The Gryffindors, after a few moments, followed their lead - they were not staying in a room alone with Snape, and he had gone too far this time for them to care about house points. The girls were already near tears in worry over Harry - even Hermione, who was loathe to disrespect any teacher, acknowledged that Harry did not deserve any of that.

Theo hurried Harry to the hospital wing - part of Hogwarts magic was that during an emergency situation, getting to the infirmary took ten minutes or less no matter which part of the castle you were starting from. In fact, some portion of the seemingly random movements of the castle's floor plan was in response to similar emergencies.

Luckily for Harry, since this was not a cursed wound, Madame Pomfrey had a very easy time healing him, though it would take an hour for the tip of his finger to fully grow back. She insisted on keeping him until lunchtime in order to treat him for shock and blood loss and to make sure he healed fully.

Meanwhile, all the other first-year Slytherins, with the Gryffindors following them, made their way to McGonagall's office. Once their knocking went unanswered, they all just sat in front of her door to wait for her.

"We're finally making a formal complaint, then?" Neville guessed. From Harry, he knew the Slytherins hated to publicly stand against their Head of House, but they were also growing impatient with his continued behavior.

"Yes," Blaise answered. "We've tried being subtle, and the prefects and upper years tried talking to him, but this has gone too far. He either cleans up his act or we'll have him fired."

"My father has enough pull, as do some other parents, to force Dumbledore to act. This is a school, not his personal fiefdom." Draco, for once, managed to sound stern. The Drama teacher, Professor Arabelle Keyes, had worked with him to reduce the hint of whine that was usually present in everything he said, but that was a work in progress.

The Slytherins, Hermione, and Neville took out their books and used the opportunity to continue revising for next week's exams. Most of the Gryffindors chatted and played games rather than studying, though a round of the quizzing game did start up. Theo found them a half-hour into their wait and was able to calm their worry for Harry just in time for McGonagall's arrival.

Luckily for them McGonagall had the period before lunch free on Fridays as otherwise they would have ended up missing Herbology for no good reason.

"What is the meaning of this?! Why aren't you in class?" Her furious voice would usually have sent them running, but not this time.

Draco, being the most audacious, and Hermione, being the type to want to be in charge, spoke up for their respective houses.

"We're here to lodge a formal complaint against Professor Snape." Draco did his best to sound firm in the face of McGonagall's raised eyebrows.

"Harry cut his finger off!" Hermione burst out, catching McGonagall's attention immediately.

"What!"

"In potions, Professor Snape kept yelling at him, until Harry had an accident and cut his finger off. There was blood everywhere, but Professor Snape said it was a scratch and wouldn't allow Neville to bandage him! Theo, against the Professor's orders, took Harry to Madame Pomfrey and the rest of us walked out and came here to complain." Hermione said very quickly as the little Gryffindors nodded along with her and the Slytherins scowled unhappily.

"We refuse to stay in the same room as someone who holds so little regard for our well being," Draco added to show how the Slytherins felt. "He's been acting off since the year began, and while at first, he was receptive to our advice to stop bullying Harry, he's been a lot worse since we came back from break. The prefects couldn't talk sense into him and we don't know what else to do. He took points off from Gryffindor for Harry not showing up early to class!"

"He's not even in Gryffindor! The man has gone mad!" Ronald Weasley exclaimed half in shock, half in wonder.

"Settle down, I'll look into this. Where is Potter now?"

"He's in the infirmary - Madame Pomfrey said she'll release him for lunch," Theo was quick to reassure her when she turned her attention to him.

"Good. You lot go on to Herbology while I go see what I can do." Shooing them off, Minerva walked into her office and sank into her chair. She had heard from both Augusta and Jackie that Severus had been hard on Neville and Harry, but since the two boys hadn't complained to her, and their grades for Potions were in the upper range for their year, she'd assumed it was just the usual complaints Severus received from being a strict professor who lacked patience for the usual childishness. But now, with all the first years from two houses, one of them being Slytherin, telling her the same story and Harry being in the infirmary, she had to take a closer look at Severus's conduct. She hated to do so because the man was touchy in the best of times, let alone when his teaching style was being criticized. With a sigh, she got up again and made her way to her colleague - there was no point in putting this off.

She found Severus still in the same classroom - she had passed a confused group of Hufflepuff fifth years waiting outside one of the other dungeon rooms. It seemed as if Severus was not going to be able to attend his other courses for the day so she had ordered them to quietly review until she came back for them.

Severus was sitting at on of the stools, most of his weight on the table in front of him. He did not look well, his skin unusually pale, his eyes closed and his jaw clenched. His hands were gripping each other while he did his best to control his breathing.

"Severus… what happened?" Minerva tried to speak as softly as she was able, gently closing and locking the door behind her.

Severus startled before turning to look at her. After a few moments, he turned to look at the blackboard. "I don't know… I just… I can't think clearly, just looking at him makes me want to commit murder." He brought up a shaking hand to rub his face. "I had to drink two calming droughts to get to this point."

"Severus! That's dangerous-" Minerva began only to be violently interrupted.

"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT!" Severus visibly calmed himself before continuing. "I'm not well. I can't - I can't do this anymore." With a shake of his head, Snape got up and quickly made his way out of the room.

"Sev- SEVERUS!" Minerva exclaimed as she followed after him. "Where are you going?"

"Away, Minerva, I'm going away. Tell Albus that I resign, for my own health as well as the well being of the students."

"But what about the students? Who will teach them?"

"I don't know, I don't care. I'm leaving with what little is left of my mental health." He abruptly stopped and turned to face Minerva, almost causing her to run into him. "I'm admitting myself into St. Mungo's. I'm not well, Minerva. I haven't been for a while, and it's time I acknowledged that." He grimaced before continuing. "Call on Slughorn, he can serve well enough, and he has the experience."

Minerva was left gaping as Severus Snape hurried off to pack his personal items. After a few moments, she remembered the Hufflepuff students and hurried back to see them. She would talk to Albus at lunch.

* * *

By the end of the day, everyone knew what had happened. While most of the students in the other three houses celebrated Snape's departure, the Slytherins were worried, both for their Head of House and their own situation. They gathered that night in their common room as they tried to understand how to react to the dramatic change in staffing.

"I can't believe he would act that way. He's always been cool and collected, even when the Weasley twins were up to their usual shenanigans." A third-year Slytherin said quietly, though his words could be heard throughout the common room due to the silence.

Lee stood up and began speaking. "Let this be a lesson to any of you thinking you can dabble in dark magic without consequences. Professor Snape was able to manage his issues for over a decade, but eventual something happened that tipped the scale and forced him to look for professional help. He almost caused a student, a Slytherin, to be permanently disfigured as a result of his condition. Hopefully, the mind healers can help him and he'll return to Hogwarts eventually, but in the meantime, we need to stick together. Don't get into arguments with other students about Professor Snape, maintain your dignity. They will talk, but the other professors will keep them in line."

Draco snorted while Pansy spoke up. "They'll make a show of it, but they're already gossiping themselves. Even some of the professors are happy that he's gone."

Harry was perhaps the only Slytherin who was fully happy with the day's events, but he was smart enough to keep his feelings to himself. Instead, he tried to get the subject changed. "Well, exams are coming up and if we do really well, there won't be as many people who would be able to say that he was a bad teacher."

"Exactly, Potter." Murk nodded firmly. "Everyone, you need to do your best on every exam, and especially Potions. It's what Professor Snape would expect."

In agreement, all the Slytherins broke into groups for study sessions, most of them going into their dorms for the quiet. The first year boys revised for their first exam, DADA. They did their best to make some sense of the notes they had taken of Quirrell's lectures, though his stutter meant half of the words were their best guesses as to what he had actually said. Harry couldn't help but continually double-check his finger, making sure that it was actually whole. There was no scar or any indication that he had been hurt earlier in the day, but Harry could still remember the pain and the feeling that something wasn't there anymore. He was happy that Snape was gone. Even if he was healed, Harry wasn't sure if he could face him anytime soon.


End file.
